General Strike
GENERAL STRIKE!
In December 1946, management refusal
to recognize a union of retail clerks in
stores adjacent to Latham Square led
to a general strike involving 100,000
workers in Alameda County. Called a
"work holiday" by labor leaders, the
spirited action expressed the frustration
of women returning to their traditional
jobs following World War II, and the
nager of veterans that the democracy
they fought for overseas did not extend
to their home workplaces.
Picket lines spilled off the sidewalks
and [illegible] Broadway and
Latham Square. The Oakland Voters
League emerged from the general strike,
and backed by labor and the NAACP, it
won four of five City Council seats in the
[illegible] 1947 election. Retail clerks gained
union recognition shortly thereafter.