March 26, 1888: Brewery Workmen’s Union Strike
March 26 1888, the National Brewers Association fired its union workers in San Francisco, triggering a successful 9-month strike by the Brewery Workmen’s Union, founded by socialist German immigrants in 1886. The new union contract guaranteed workers free beer.
August 15, 1896: Socialist Labor Party Members Arrested for Public Speech
August 15 1896, eight members of the Socialist Labor Party were arrested for public speech on 7th and Market St in San Francisco at a rally in support of free speech, called after another SLP member, William Edlin, was arrested and convicted for speaking on the street. Edlin, and the …
July 21, 1901: The Lockout that Led to the 1901 Waterfront Strike
July 21 1901, San Francisco employers’ organization the Draymen’s Association locked out 1500 union workers affiliated with the Brotherhood of Teamsters, triggering the 1901 Waterfront Strike and ensuing “labor war” which left 5 workers dead. Outraged by the collaboration between police, who used extreme violence to crush the strike, and …
January 28, 1906: West Coast's first Socialist Sunday School Opens in Oakland
January 28 1906, the Socialist Party of America’s Oakland branch opened the West Coast’s first Socialist Sunday School. The school taught reading, music, gymnastics, and “red flag drills” to over 100 children, in an effort to “eliminate fear, superstition, and false education.”
June 1, 1906: Kōtoku Shūsui founds the Social Revolutionary Party in Berkeley
June 1 1906, Kōtoku Shūsui co-founded the Shakai Kakumeito (Social Revolutionary Party) in Berkeley. The party included over 50 other Japanese radicals and printed a bilingual paper, Kakumei (Revolution), promoting the IWW and the overthrow of the Japanese emperor. Kōtoku, a prominent socialist in Japan, came to California after a …