IBEW 1245
  • Main Menu
    ▼
    • Our Union
      ▼
      • Merchandise
      • New Members
      • Structure
      • Bylaws
      • History
      • Obituaries
      • Our Employers
      • Members at Work: Photo Slideshow
      • Find a Job
      • Update Your Contact Information
    • Unit Meetings & Events
      ▼
      • Events
      • Unit Meetings
    • Agreements
    • Education
      ▼
      • JATC Classes
      • Scholarships
      • Tuition Reimbursement
      • First Aid & CPR Training
    • Update Your Info & Pay Dues Online
    • Contact Us
  • Sections
    ▼
    • 1245 News
    • PG&E
    • Outside Construction
    • Nevada
    • Manufacturing
    • Public Sector
    • Vegetation Management
    • Safety
  • Quick Links
    ▼
    • COVID-19 News Center
    • Benefits
    • PG&E Contract Section Index
    • Latest News
    • Find Your Rep
    • Unit Meetings
    • Organize
    • Calendar
    • Library
    • Stewards
    • Retirees
    • Community

IBEW1245

The power is in our hands

PAY YOUR DUES ONLINE
PART-1

Chapter 8: Linemen Refuse to Back Down

Three IBEW 151 linemen in their PT&T line wagon are chased by police after they blocked the tracks during the street car strike. Call/SFHC/SFPL/SB 18

Three IBEW 151 linemen in their PT&T line wagon are chased by police after they blocked the
tracks during the 1907 street car strike. Call/SFHC/SFPL/SB 18

On May 8, 1907, San Francisco police were ordered to keep the street cars running—basically, to serve as strikebreakers. The striking carmen had to prevent that from happening, or else give up their fight for the eight-hour day.

Mid-afternoon, two street cars headed out from the car barns, with a heavy escort of police. Vast crowds followed behind on foot. After the previous day’s carnage, no one tried to stop the street cars. But at the intersection of Hayes and Masonic, three PT&T linemen pulled their horse-drawn repair wagon onto the tracks. IBEW 151 hadn’t officially joined the strike yet, but these linemen believed it was a matter of honor to help the street carmen, who had supported the linemen’s strike the year before.

The original caption from the Examiner of May 8, 1907 says the photograph shows the arrest of lineman John Riley, “who obstructed the cars and fought the police until he was beaten into insensibility…” Examiner/SFHC/SFPL/SB 18

The original caption from the Examiner of May 8, 1907 says the photograph shows the arrest of lineman John Riley, “who obstructed the cars and fought the police until he was beaten into insensibility…” Examiner/SFHC/SFPL/SB 18

A mounted policeman quirted the linemen’s horse to drive it from the tracks, and then began whipping the linemen, who fought back with wrenches. Other police swarmed onto the wagon and clubbed lineman John Riley until his “scalp was laid open to the bone,” according to the Los Angeles Times. Riley and lineman William Hannan, who was also beaten, were arraigned on various charges. They had not laid a hand on the Farley scabs, but they had challenged the power of Patrick Calhoun, the president of United Railroads.

Weeks later, IBEW Local 151 officially joined the Street Carmen strike. Calhoun was facing indictment by a grand jury on bribery charges (as were executives at two other IBEW 151 employers: PT&T and PG&E). But ultimately Calhoun had the resources to simply outwait the strikers. The strike collapsed in the fall. Its human toll included 31 killed and some 1150 injured.

Next: Chapter 9

  • Introduction to the History of IBEW Local 1245
    • Skip to Part II
    • Skip to Part III
  • Chapter 1: Because Somebody Needed Their Help
  • Chapter 2: Gas Workers Organize
  • Chapter 3: The Earthquake
  • Chapter 4: The United Railroads Strike of 1906
  • Chapter 5: The Industrial Union Prophet
  • Chapter 6: The Street Carmen and the Slave Owner’s Son
  • Chapter 7: Bloody Tuesday
  • Chapter 8: Linemen Refuse to Back Down
  • Chapter 9: The “Hello Girls” Make a Stand
  • Chapter 10: The Strike Against Naphtaly
  • Chapter 11: The Split
  • Chapter 12: The Reid IBEW in the West
  • Chapter 13: PG&E Strike – An Exuberant Spectacle
  • Chapter 14: Contest of Wills
  • Chapter 15: No Neutral Position
  • Chapter 16: Brotherhood and Betrayal
  • Chapter 17: Thugs and Gunmen
  • Chapter 18: Dynamiters and Snitches
  • Chapter 19: Appetite for Direct Action
  • Chapter 20: Coup de Grâce
  • Chapter 21: The 1917 Telephone Strike
  • Chapter 22: The Big Frame-Up
  • Chapter 23: The 1919 Telephone Strike
  • Chapter 24: The American Plan
  • Quick Link: Organizing Sacramento Municipal Utility District
  • Quick Link: Organizing Sierra Pacific Power
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

© 2022 IBEW Local 1245 - Responsive WordPress Website by HyperArts