The terms of the government bill represent a defeat for the rail workers. They had originally demanded a 27 percent raise over two years; parliament gave them only 17.6 percent. The bill also removes the right to strike from 36,000 other rail workers.

Thousands of rail workers - many of whom had staged wildcat strikes since January against the delays in negotiations and the refusal of the rail barons to bargain - staged demonstrations across the country protesting government strike- breaking attempts.

September 13, 1948
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 4 - Every port on the Pacific Coast from San Pedro California to Seattle, Washington, is tied-up as of midnight Sept. 1. Not a single ship moves as 12,000 CIO longshoremen and 10,000 members of the Independent Marine Firemen's Union and CIO Marine Cooks and Stewards march the picket lines.

The longshoremen and firemen and cooks were forced on strike by the adamant refusal of the ship operators and waterfront employers to recognize the principle of the union hiring hall, or to budge from their position that the unions continue their no-strike pledge and tie themselves to the vicious compulsory arbitration machinery of the old contract. The major demands of the longshoremen are as follows: 1) The hiring hall set-up as is. 2) 18-cents an hour pay increase, bringing the straight-time scale from $1.67 to $1.85. Overtime after 6 hours at time-and-a-half. 3) Elimination of all penalty clauses of the contract especially those applying to stoppage of work.  
 
 
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