After the rioting broke out from the court hearing a small group of CIO sought shelter in their building, (it being a small structure measuring 16 by 24 feet). It was only a matter of time that angry mob would descend. Aid arrived in the nick of time before matters got completely out of control with Lassen County Sheriff Olin Johnson and his deputies. Johnson had Jack Granger, a respected AFL member, be his spokesman. Granger’s is plea to the angry mob stated: “Fellows I ask you on behalf of Sheriff Johnson and those women and children in the building to open way and let them be taken out of here. We are aware of the hysteria that got us all and there is no thought of fear. Let’s play ball with the Sheriff.” The mob obliged and all those inside—29 to be exact—were escorted unmolested from the structure by the sheriff deputies. It was still a harrowing experience as the crowd had slashed the car tires of the sheriff deputies and they had to drive away on the rims!

The AFL resented the CIO headquarters; many considered it a symbol of the labor problems of Westwood. Exactly what the AFL’s intention were was anyone’s guess. Once the evacuees were escorted out of the building, the mood of the crowd changed and then someone yelled, “Let’s do something.” Within in moments, the American flag on top of the building was lowered. Then in a wild frenzy the mob began dismantling the building. Within thirty minutes it had been reduced to rubble.

Tensions between the two labor groups would continue for years. Even after the AFL in a 1941 special election to become the sole union to represent Red River Lumber Company employees, resentment lingered with many CIO’s for decades.