With all this talk about cops in this situation and that, I think it’s time we step back and take a look at the role cops play in society. It’s not much different than it was in the Big Strike of ’34. Cops are there to protect company property, herd scabs through the picket line, attack union militants and arrest union leaders. They killed six strikers and strike supporters in ’34. Here in San Franciso two were killed. We commemorate these martyrs with a painting in front of our union hall on the sidewalk with two silhouettes of slain men with the inscription: “Two ILA Men Killed, Shot in the Back, Police Murder.” Because of cops’ bloody strikebreaking role the makers’ Local 10’s Constitution, leaders of the ’34 strike, banned them from membership in our union. When we hit the bricks again in defense of our union, cops will be marshalled for the same purpose. In the meantime they’re busy targeting the unemployed, homeless and especially minorities.
