The 1935 lumber strike had its roots in the rapidly changing political and economic circumstances of the Great Depression. Beginning with the Stock Market Crash of 1929, the first few years of the 1930s witnessed staggering economic decline and widespread unemployment. Workers from every industry suffered, including those in the lumber industry, who were subjected to declining wages, longer hours and employer oppression. The collapse of the national economy led to a decline in home building and other construction, leaving the logging companies without a market for their lumber. The once highly profitable Pacific Northwest logging companies found themselves in desperate straits.