ILWU to remember ‘Bloody Thursday,’ founding of longshore union on Sunday, July 5

By Sunday, July 5, the fireworks and other celebratory events will have quieted down.

And for the tens of thousands of members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the attention will turn to those who sacrificed much — including, for some, their lives — to establish the labor union that has stood up for them since its founding in the 1930s.

The “Bloody Thursday” holiday, when both the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will sit relatively quiet for a workers’ day off, will begin early and be filled with a cemetery procession in Gardena.

It will culminate with a union-family barbecue and activities at the union hall in Wilmington.

Sunday will begin with a solemn, motor procession at 9 a.m. and a gathering at Roosevelt Memorial Park, 1410 W. 154th St., in Gardena, where San Pedro High School graduate Dickie Parker and Lomita resident John Knudsen are buried. Both union supporters died in 1934 during a strike when they joined a group that confronted replacement workers on the Wilmington docks on May 14.

Parker was 20 and Knudsen 43 when they were killed in the bloody confrontation.

Parker died at the scene, while Knudsen died later in a Long Beach hospital. Parker’s funeral procession ended at Barton Hill Elementary School in San Pedro, his alma mater. He and Knudsen, according to the records, were the first casualties of the labor dispute, which continued to intensify before culminating in early July in San Francisco.

Afterward July 5 became known as “Bloody Thursday,” now recognized as a day off for longshore workers, with port operations largely shut down in recognition of what was a costly struggle for labor rights.

The event is a largely solemn time to pay homage to the union, said Greg Mitre, president of ILWU Pensioners. While past years have included large picnic gatherings held at area parks, this year’s more in-house event following the procession will take place at the union hall, 231 C St., in Wilmington.

The entire block around the hall will be closed to traffic for the gathering, which will include lunch, children’s games and family activities with entertainment.

The day will also include a drive-by procession at the Harry Bridges Memorial, 504 S. Harbor Blvd., in San Pedro.

Remembering the costly establishment of the union also holds widespread significance, said one ILWU leader.

“First, we showed the world that when working people stick together, there’s little they can’t do,” Gary Herrera, former president of ILWU Local 13, said in a statement published in 2024. “Second, it was also about supporting democracy. Finally, we forced the employers to treat us as equals about the work we do, how we do it and what we get paid for it. The principles for which we fought in 1934 are still true today.”