The dockers were demanding an increase in pay, better conditions, a ban on hiring workers outside of the union, and shorter hours.
[2] They were protected by the local police forces from Edinburgh and Leith, as well as by others who had been drafted in from Aberdeen, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, and the Lothians.
[3] The local newspaper reported this was unheard of, and that the "free labourers" brought in to do the strikers' jobs were unable to match the speed of those on strike, and were costly in terms of upkeep for the employers.
[8] The local paper The Scotsman reported there were 3,000 dockers, 600 firemen and sailors, 500 tramwaymen, 150 boilermakers, mill girls and 350 children of the striking workers, led by two labour school board teachers, totalling about 4,600.
A loaf of bread painted green to look mouldy was held high, which the strikers suggested symbolised their share of profits.
[3] A later speaker suggested the solution lay in electoral politics, and advocated voting for the Labour party in upcoming elections.
The strike finally ended on 14 August, when James O'Connor Kessack informed a mass meeting of dockers at the Gaiety Theatre that more strike-breakers ready to cross the picketline were coming from Newcastle.
[3] Advised by the leadership of the NUDL, the assembled mass meeting voted by a large majority to end the strike.