After a 1928 massacre of striking United Fruit workers in Colombia, militant dockworkers picket East Coast ships in solidarity. With dozens of arrests, 40 pickets in Philadelphia are sentenced to a month in workhouse for ‘inciting to riot.’

‘Dock Workers Picket United Fruit Ships in Solidarity with Colombia Strikers’ from The Daily Worker. Vol. 5 No. 298. December 17, 1928.

DEMONSTRATE AT BOAT LOADED AT POINT OF GUNS

Score U.S. Imperialism at Dock Workers’ Meeting–Distribute the “Daily”–43 Demonstrators in Philadelphia Jailed

“Down with Bloody American Imperialism in Latin America!” “Stand by the Colombia Fruit Workers’ Strike!” “Strike Against United Fruit Company Brutality!”

These and other slogans served as rallying cries of a picket demonstration held Saturday at Pier 16, North River. where the Santa Marta, United Fruit Company ship, had docked the day before. This is the ship which railroad workers in Santa Marta, Colombia, showing their solidarity with the 40,000 striking banana plantation workers, had refused to load. A detachment of 800 troops fired on them, killing 14 in cold blood and wounding many others and forcing the rest to load the ship at the point of guns.

400 Participate.

About 400 dock workers took part in the picket demonstration which lasted several hours. The demonstration was arranged by the Marine Workers’ Progressive League and the New York Branch of the All-America Anti-Imperialist League. The police were at first uncertain what to do. After consulting with officials of the United Fruit Company, they decided not to incur unpleasant publicity by attacks on the pickets. They interfered with the demonstration as much as they could without actually using violence or making arrests. Newspaper photographers were also molested.

Distribute “Daily.”

Copies of the Daily Worker, giving details of the massacre of the Colombia strikers, were distributed during the demonstration and were read eagerly by the dock workers. Following the picketing a meeting was held outside the offices of the United Fruit Company. Among those who spoke were George Mink, national secretary of the Marine Workers’ Progressive League; Harriet Silverman, secretary of the New York branch of the All-America Anti-Imperialist League; I. Zimmerman, and Harold Williams, a Negro worker. All the speakers pointed out the murderous role of American imperialism in Latin America and called on the workers to stand solid behind the struggle of the Colombia plantation strikers. It is announced that picketing of United Fruit Company ships will continue and workers are urged to volunteer for picket duty.

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 16. Police yesterday arrested 43 workers who were participating in a demonstration of solidarity with the 40,000 Colombian fruit strikers. The demonstration was held at Pier 9, which is occupied by the United Fruit Co., against whom the Colombian banana workers are striking.

Over 150 workers took part in the demonstration, which was held under the auspices of the Workers (Communist) Party, the All-America Anti-Imperialist League, and the Young Workers League. The arrested workers were brought before Magistrate Fahnstock, who refused to allow them time to get in touch with their attorney. Each demonstrator was charged with “inciting to riot.” When the workers refused to swear on the bible, an additional charge of “contempt of court” was made by Fahnstock. Fahnstock, who is notorious as a labor-baiter, sentenced 40 of the workers to 30 days in the workhouse. Three of the demonstrators were released on $600 bail.

The International Labor Defense, representing the workers, will appeal the cases tomorrow morning.

The Daily Worker began in 1924 and was published in New York City by the Communist Party US and its predecessor organizations. Among the most long-lasting and important left publications in US history, it had a circulation of 35,000 at its peak. The Daily Worker came from The Ohio Socialist, published by the Left Wing-dominated Socialist Party of Ohio in Cleveland from 1917 to November 1919, when it became became The Toiler, paper of the Communist Labor Party. In December 1921 the above-ground Workers Party of America merged the Toiler with the paper Workers Council to found The Worker, which became The Daily Worker beginning January 13, 1924.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1928/1928-ny/v05-n298-NY-dec-17-1928-DW-LOC.pdf