There were many significant labor strikes through the history of strikes in the United States. I chose the Textile Mill Strike of 1934; This strike particularly intrigued me because the Unions and labor laws were in their infancy stage and made a lot of mistakes along the way. This strike involved politicians, laws, and even touched the President at the time personally. This strike also affected the Northeastern part of the United States which is where we reside.
First let us start with a little history about the current events at this time. The First World War had just ended. The Great Depression had just begun. They called 1920- 1929 the Stretch out. Production in cotton mills soared during World War I to accommodate the demand for …show more content…
The union's decision had lasting repercussions for Southern workers. The strike failed, and its failure was a dark cloud over the Southern labor movement for the rest of the century. The union might have escaped this disaster if it had characterized the strike as a first step, rather than attempting to pass it off as a victory. The memory of blacklisting and defeat soured many Southern textile workers on unions for decades. Anti-union sentiment in the South kept wages low for decades, but also acted as a catalyst for development later when industries moved there from the North and Midwest because of lower costs. Employers resisted integrating textile mills; when they were forced to do so by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, many jobs in the textile industry were already moving overseas, a trend that accelerated in the 1980s.
References
Brecher, J. (1997). Strike! (Rev. and updated Ed.). Boston, MA: South End Press.
Hall, J. (1987). Like a family: The making of a Southern cotton mill world. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
Kendrick, A. (n.d.). "Alabama Goes On Strike" In the Nation.
Lahne, H. (1945). The Cotton Mill Worker. The Journal of Economic History, 5(1), 332-332.
Salmond, J. (2002). The general textile strike of 1934 from Maine to Alabama. Columbia, Mo.: University of Missouri
First let us start with a little history about the current events at this time. The First World War had just ended. The Great Depression had just begun. They called 1920- 1929 the Stretch out. Production in cotton mills soared during World War I to accommodate the demand for …show more content…
The union's decision had lasting repercussions for Southern workers. The strike failed, and its failure was a dark cloud over the Southern labor movement for the rest of the century. The union might have escaped this disaster if it had characterized the strike as a first step, rather than attempting to pass it off as a victory. The memory of blacklisting and defeat soured many Southern textile workers on unions for decades. Anti-union sentiment in the South kept wages low for decades, but also acted as a catalyst for development later when industries moved there from the North and Midwest because of lower costs. Employers resisted integrating textile mills; when they were forced to do so by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, many jobs in the textile industry were already moving overseas, a trend that accelerated in the 1980s.
References
Brecher, J. (1997). Strike! (Rev. and updated Ed.). Boston, MA: South End Press.
Hall, J. (1987). Like a family: The making of a Southern cotton mill world. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
Kendrick, A. (n.d.). "Alabama Goes On Strike" In the Nation.
Lahne, H. (1945). The Cotton Mill Worker. The Journal of Economic History, 5(1), 332-332.
Salmond, J. (2002). The general textile strike of 1934 from Maine to Alabama. Columbia, Mo.: University of Missouri