Mural Department: SF Arts Commission
Assistant Paintings Conservator, Melissa, during treatment of the sculptural mural
Created in 1986 by the artist collective M.E.T.A.L. (Mural Environmentalists Together in Art Labor), An Injury to One is an Injury to All is a sculptural mural commemorating “Bloody Thursday,” July 5, 1934, when union workers Howard Sperry and Nicholas Bordoise were killed during the West Coast Waterfront Strike. The mural honors the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the continuing struggle for dignity and equity among working people. Originally located along the Embarcadero, in 2004 it was relocated to the intersection of Mission and Steuart Streets—near the site of the events it memorializes.
The mural, created by a collective including Miranda Bergman, Nicole Emanuel, O’Brien Thiele, and Horace Washington, is part of the San Francisco Arts Commission’s Civic Art Collection. The project was supported through an SFAC Monuments and Memorials grant, part of the City’s initiative to re-examine and preserve its public artworks. Grace Weiss, Civic Art Collection Project Manager for the Civic Art Collection, continues to work toward long-term preservation planning for San Francisco’s outdoor art.
Prior to treatment, the mural exhibited significant surface deterioration including fading, discoloration, and localized corrosion from exposure to the waterfront environment. The protective coating had deteriorated, resulting in areas of loss, flaking, and uneven gloss, while sections of the steel armature showed early signs of oxidation. As part of the project, the armature was fully repainted with an industrial coating, matching the initial color and adhering to current environmental standards. Treatment included localized reduction and removal of degraded coating, surface cleaning, rust conversion, filling, localized inpainting and adding several layers of varnish to ensure ongoing protection.
Following its preservation, the ILWU Memorial will serve as both a historical archive and a dynamic homage to San Francisco’s labor movement, integrating art, memory, and communal strength within the city’s public sphere.
Before treatment, sculptural mural
Before treatment, detail
During treatment
Before treatment, Section 2
Before treatment, Section 3
Before treatment, detail of deteriorated paint and coating, along with structural impact damage
After treatment
After treatment
During treatment, review
After treament
After treatment
After treatment