4. Newspaper Account of the Conclusion of the Strike

In December, dockworkers in Corpus Christi returned to work. The strike ended somewhat inconclusively, as agreements with workers at the different ports varied.

The 1935 clash on the Southern docks was just one of the thousands of strikes, work stoppages, walkouts, and other protests nationwide during the 1930s, including strikes by garment workers, pecan shellers, and laundry workers in San Antonio and Dallas; strikes by farm workers and domestic workers in El Paso; and additional dock strikes in Galveston and Houston.

“ILA to Return to Docks Monday,” Corpus Christi Caller Times, December 15, 1935

Tomorrow will mark the return of members of the International Longshoremen’s Association to work at the local docks after an absence of more than nine weeks, due to the strike which has gripped the Texas Coast.

Members of the local maritime association said yesterday, however, that the strike is not completely settled but rather that a truce is in effect at the ports of Galveston, Texas City, and Corpus Christi until the mediation board can reach some conclusion on how to dispose of the independent labor holding contracts with steamship operators in Houston and Beaumont.

Officials of the Navigation District yesterday ordered the removal of guards who have protected dock property since shortly after the outbreak of the strike. No guards or independent longshoremen occupied the local docks after 6 o’clock last evening.

The first ship to be worked by the independent labor will be the Maria, an Italian ship arriving this afternoon from New Orleans. The Body-Campbell Co. is her agent in this port.

SOURCE:

“ILA to Return to Docks Monday: Guards Taken from Port Property Here at 6 Last Evening,” Corpus Christi Caller-Times, December 15, 1935