Attempts to organize the Oakland department stores Kahn's and Hastings began in the summer of 1946 by Al Kidder, a war veteran who had recently returned home.

Kahn’s and Hastings were the city’s landmark downtown department stores and the largest employers of nonunion workers in the central business district.

The strike strengthened in early December, when with the support of the city government and business leaders, management called upon the police to remove the picketers.

Oaklanders were part of a nationwide strike wave in 1946 that represented organized labor’s efforts to ensure that postwar demobilization did not erode workers’ standard of living.

Veterans of World War II that were engaging in the strike marched around the Tribune Tower, performing close-order drills, demanding that the mayor along with the city council step down from office.

Lundeberg spoke to an overflowing crowd of picketers, displaying his rage: "These flinky gazoonies who call themselves city fathers have been taking lessons from Hitler and Stalin.

[7] On December 5 the AFL Central Labor Council declared an end to the strike and sent a sound truck to relay their decision.