Minneapolis, MN — On July 19, labor activists and organizers held an annual memorial commemorating workers who died during the Minneapolis truckers strike of 1934. This quickly became a rallying cry not just for local truck drivers but for a burgeoning national labor movement demanding better pay and improved safety conditions across the board. Increased pressure from a strong local and national union movement forced Minnesota’s business owners — then represented by the notorious anti-union Citizens Alliance — to concede to the strikers demands. It was a huge victory not only for Minnesota unions but for the entire national labor movement leading to overall improved working conditions and enshrining the legal right for workers to organize on the job floor. This event is known as the Minneapolis Aquatennial, which was started in 1940 and continues to the current day.