The United Fruit Company strike of 1913 started on June 2, 1913.[1] It was a worker-led strike organized by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)[2][3] in New Orleans against the United Fruit Company that was marked by violence.
On June 13, 1913, an attempt to stop the loading of a ship by strikebreakers turned violent as police officers and private security guards opened fire on the strikers, killing two and wounding several.[4][5]
The strike was one of a series of strikes that were led by workers in other port cities, most notability in Philadelphia with the Marine Transport Workers Union. Most of these strikes were successful; however, the strike was a failure in New Orleans.[6]
References
- United Fruit Co. Riot, Trust Goes The Limit But Solidarity of Strikers Unbroken The Lumberjack, June 19, 1913^
- FRUIT TRUST GROGGY The Lumberjack, June 26, 1913^
- THE SITUATION ON THE RIVER FRONT The Lumberjack, June 12, 1913^
- Riot on The River Front: Strike of Steamship Crews Results in Bloodshed The Times-Democrat, 1913-06-12, retrieved 2021-02-28^
- Wounded Striker Dies: Neumann Succumbs to Wound Received in Wednesday's Riot The Times-Democrat, 1913-06-14, retrieved 2021-02-28^
- Merl E. Reed. Lumberjacks and Longshoremen: The I.W.W. in Louisiana Labor History, 1972-01-01^