This Day in History

May 25, 1934: Minneapolis Teamsters Strike

Time Periods: 1920
Themes: Labor
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On May 25, 1934, the historic Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934 reached a settlement with union recognition and reinstatement for all fired workers. As described on the MHS website:

The strike was one of the most violent in the state’s history, and a major battle in Minnesota’s ‘civil war’ of the 1930s between business and labor. A non-union city, Minneapolis business leaders had successfully kept unions at bay through an organization called the Citizens Alliance.

By early May 1934, one of the worst years of the Great Depression, General Drivers Local 574 of the Teamsters (IBT) had organized 3,000 truckers. When employers refused to recognize the union, or its right to speak for all of its members, union leaders called a strike.

National Guard raid on offices of the Central Labor Union, Minneapolis. Image Source: Minnesota Historical Society (MHS).

There is an invaluable website for teaching about the strike called “Minneapolis Truckers Make History” with the story of the strike, photos, NHD projects, timelines, essays, and more. 

Here are more resources for teaching outside the textbook about labor history. 

Related Resources
Teaching Guides

The Power in Our Hands: A Curriculum on the History of Work and Workers in the United States

Teaching Guide. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 1988. 184 pages.
Role plays and writing activities project high school students into real-life situations to explore the history and contemporary reality of employment (and unemployment) in the U.S.

Books: Non-Fiction

“They’re Bankrupting Us!”: And 20 Other Myths about Unions

Book — Non-fiction. By Bill Fletcher Jr. 2012. 224 pages.
Scholar and labor organizer Bill Fletcher Jr. unpacks the 21 myths most often cited by anti-labor propagandists.

Teaching Activities (Free)

The 1934 West Coast Longshore Strike

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 20 pages.
Students “become” several of the social groups who participated in the 1934 Longshore Workers Strike — some of whom had to answer the question, “Which side are you on?”

Songs and Poems

“Workers of the World, Awaken!” by Joe Hill

Song. By Joe Hill. 1910.
A classic labor song, reaching out to workers to around the world.

Teaching Guides

Labor Matters

Teaching Activity. By Learning for Justice.
Introduces students to the role of the labor movement in securing contemporary benefits such as the 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, and workplace safety regulations.

Teaching Activities (Free)

Labor Songs

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 7 pages.
Students explore the power of songs to build solidarity and increase understanding. This is the final activity from Bigelow and Diamond’s labor history book, The Power in Our Hands, and draws on the other lessons.