The Passaic Strike
Back in the day on January 25th, 1926, the Passaic Strike commenced after demands made by wool and silk workers were ignored. With a workforce comprised of Southern and Eastern European immigrants, the mills in Passaic, New Jersey were infamous for their low wages, dangerous work conditions, and anti-union espionage. When the Vice President of the Botany mill instituted a further decrease in pay by ten percent, most others in and around the area followed suit despite fears such a move would provoke a strike. The Trade Union Educational League under the name of the United Front Committee organized against the wage cuts and presented demands to the Botany mill that is be rescinded in addition to other workplace improvements. Subsequently dismissed, four thousand workers responded by walking out. By the week’s end, the strike had doubled in numbers as employees at other mills joined in. The UFC met an impasse in negotiations for months when communist leaders in the organization decided to hand the strike over to the more conservative United Textile Workers.
More than a year later, the Passaic strike would end with shop-by-shop agreements of varying degrees. Leftists hailed it as a major victory for labor, however, over time few of the concessions made by mill owners were actually enforced.
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:25 am
I’ll use this in my English class’s final exam about William Carlos Williams, family practice doctor to the working classes of the Rutherford – Paterson area. Thanks for this post!