Longshoremen to march in memory of slain workers

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The event will pay tribute to two men killed during a 1934 strike. A statue honoring International Longshore and Warehouse Union founder Harry Bridges also will be unveiled in San Pedro.
By Louis Sahagun
May 15, 2009

Ever since the 1930s, when Harry Bridges founded the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the legendary labor leader's name has conjured images of dockworker walkouts and bloody clashes with police on the picket lines in the hardworking port communities of Wilmington and San Pedro.

Today, the union will mark the 75th anniversary of the deaths of two members who were killed during the waterfront strike of 1934 with a march and memorial service, and the unveiling of a bronze and granite Harry Bridges Monument in downtown San Pedro's John S. Gibson Jr. Park.


"For us, this is hallowed ground. It's for the guys who got killed -- and died on the job -- and for Harry," union Pensioners President Al Perisho said Thursday as he admired the gleaming $130,000, 8-foot-tall monument installed at 5th Street and Harbor Boulevard.

"Of course, Harry wouldn't have liked all the attention -- he was too modest," Perisho, 77, added with a smile. "Our goal here is to keep ILWU history alive, and cement a connection between the current generation and the struggles and sacrifices of union brothers and sisters of previous generations."
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FULL ARTICLE
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bridges15-2009may15,0,1231344.story


ORIGINAL SOURCE SITE
http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_statenews.pl?state=California