The strikers’ formal assault began with picketing. A law prohibited strikers from
gathering in front of individual mills, so they developed a picket line around the entire
mill district, twenty-four hours a day for ten weeks. The picket lines were augmented by
parades through the center of town involving 3000 to 6000 participants. In retaliation,
the city passed an ordinance that made parades and other mass meetings unlawful. The
strikers responded with "sidewalk parades" during which twenty to fifty people
locked arms and marched along sidewalks and even through stores, interrupting and angering
local businesses.
While strikers conducted most of the demonstrations peacefully, violence did
break out on a few occasions. Before the IWW took control of the situation, police turned
firehoses on protesters, who responded by throwing handfuls of ice.
As they marched, they sang protest
songs by IWW songwriters Joe Hill and Ralph Chaplin. One reporter commented, "The
Wobblies were a singing movement without peer in America." Women played a major role
in the picketing and parading, often carrying signs that read, "We Want Bread and
Roses Too." (This became a legendary slogan for the labor and feminist movements.)
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