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 Democratic mayor James D. Phelan, the San Francisco labor movement formed the Union Labor Party, which briefly dominated city politics before collapsing in a 1907 corruption scandal.

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