In the economic slowdown following the Panic of 1893, the Harrison Line of Liverpool led a number of other shippers in announcing, in February 1895, that they were letting 300 organized white workers go, and replacing them with unskilled non-union black workers.
[1] Union workers had just displayed racial unity in the general strike, even in the face of provocations and harassment from the strongly anti-union New Orleans Times-Democrat, for one example.
[2] But this time, under pressure, a "race to the bottom" bidding war between white and black groups developed into violence.
[3] The next dawn, a mob of several hundred whites descended on an ocean-going ship being loaded and started firing on black longshoremen.
[6] Despite continuing tensions and the race riot of 1900, in the 20th century New Orleans black and white dockworkers would implement racially cooperative work rules, for example, 50/50 representation on jobs.