Strikes in the United States in the 1930s played a major role in reshaping the economy as it recovered from the Great Depression. Unions gained millions of members for unions in the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the new Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). Energized by successful strikes in major industries with the help of New Deal agencies, the unions played a major role in Democratic Party efforts to reelect President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, as well as 1940 and 1944.
Overview Between 1930 and 1941, 27,000 work stoppages led to a loss of 172 million labor days, and about 90 deaths.For statistics see "Work Stoppages" in W.S. Woytinsky and Associates, Employment and Wages in the United States (The Twentieth Century Fund, 1953) pp: 282–292. As the economy declined workers were angry but management was losing money and could not afford to raise wages, so the strikes usually failed. This caused desperation among workers and union leaders.Irving Bernstein, The lean years: A history of the American worker, 1920-1933 (1960) pp 341-343. However, as the economy shot up starting in summer 1933, labor knew that management would negotiate rather than lose markets and profits. The New Deal unintentionally fueled labor militancy, giving unions a powerful tool in the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, known as the "Wagner Act." It set up the National Labor Relations Board. Rank-and-file workers, who initiated most stoppages by walking out or sitting down, weighed their lost wages versus the long-term benefits of union membership if they won. The main gains were made by the old established unions belonging to the American Federation of Labor (AFL), and even more dramatically by the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), which split from the AFL in 1935. John L. Lewis of the coal miners' union used his organizers to unionize the nation's steel, auto, rubber and electrical plants. Organized labor's unprecedented accomplishments during this era were impossible without the aid of strikes. However, the AFL and CIO became bitter rivals in 1937, as the economy suddenly went into reverse and the conservative Republicans made major gains in the 1938 elections.Irving Bernstein, The turbulent years: A history of the American worker, 1933-1941 (1970).
Federal role The involvement of the federal government in labor disputes caused a gradual weakening of employers' power. To address the demands of trade unionists, Congress enacted the Norris–La Guardia Act in 1932. It blocked federal courts from issuing injunctions that helped management. It also stopped federal courts from enforcing yellow-dog contracts in which workers promised not to join a union. The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA), specifically Section 7(a), went further: it gave workers the right to join unions of their choice and collectively bargain with management. These new laws had an immediate impact as the number of strikes doubled, with triple the number of strikers.Milton Derber and Edwin Young, eds. Labor and the New Deal (1957) pp 361–372.
Notable strikes
Date Strike Place1930Imperial Valley lettuce strike of 1930Imperial Valley, California 1931Tampa cigar makers' strike of 1931 Tampa, Florida 1931Santa Clara cannery strike Santa Clara, California 1931Harlan County War Harlan County, Kentucky 1932Century Airlines pilots' strike Chicago, Illinois 1933Briggs Manufacturing Company strike Detroit, Michigan19331933 Funsten Nut strikeGreater St. Louis 1933California agricultural strikes of 1933 California 1933 El Monte berry strike California 1933–34 Harriman Hosiery Mills strike Roane County, Tennessee 1934Kohler strike Sheboygan, Wisconsin 19341934 New York hotel strike New York City 1934Auto-Lite strike Toledo, Ohio 1934Minneapolis general strike of 1934 Minneapolis, Minnesota 19341934 West Coast waterfront strike U.S. West Coast 1934 Hardin County onion pickers strike Hardin County, Ohio 1934Textile workers' strike (1934) New England, Mid-Atlantic region and U.S. southern states1934–351934–35 Milwaukee sales clerks' strikeMilwaukee 1935Pacific Northwest lumber strike U.S. Pacific Northwest 19351935 Gulf Coast longshoremen's strike U.S. Gulf Coast 1936Venice celery strike Los Angeles County, California 1936Gulf Coast maritime workers' strike U.S. Gulf Coast1936–37Pacific Coast maritime workers' strikeU.S. Pacific Coast 1936 Goodyear rubber strike Akron, Ohio 1936 Citrus strike California 1936–37Flint sit-down strike Flint, Michigan 1936–37Remington Rand strike of 1936–1937 New York City 1937Little Steel strike including Memorial Day massacre of 1937 nationwide 1937Stockton cannery strike of 1937 California 19371937 Lewiston–Auburn shoe strikeLewiston, Maine and Auburn, Maine19381938 San Antonio pecan shellers strikeSan Antonio19381938 New York City truckers strikeNew York City 1938Hilo massacre Hilo, Hawaii 1939Tool and die strike of 1939Detroit, Michigan
1934 wave
San Francisco
In 1934, there was a large strike wave with 1.5 million workers going on strike for long-term union recognition, rather than immediate wage or hour concerns. National attention focused on the San Francisco docks when longshoremen formed a new local of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and went on strike in May 1934 due to the national ILA leadership ignoring their concerns. Shipping companies hired vigilantes to beat strikers, and police opened fire on a crowd of unarmed strikers, killing two and injuring many more. A short-lived general strike of 125,000 workers ensued in the city. By the end of July, under the leadership of left-wing firerbrand Harry Bridges, dockworkers won their main demand for a union-controlled hiring hall. Their new union was the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).Robert W. Cherny, "The making of a labor radical: Harry Bridges, 1901-1934." Pacific Historical Review 64.3 (1995): 363-388.David F. Selvin, A terrible anger: The 1934 waterfront and general strikes in San Francisco (Wayne State University Press, 1996).
Minneapolis general strike of 1934
The Minneapolis general strike of 1934 began on May 16, 1934, when truck drivers in Minneapolis, Minnesota went on strike to demand better working conditions and wages. The strike quickly spread to other industries in the city, including warehouse workers, laundry workers, and others. By the end of the month, over 40,000 workers were on strike, effectively shutting down much of the city's economy. The strike was marked by violent clashes between strikers and police, with the worst violence occurring on July 20, 1934, which became known as "Bloody Friday." Police shot into a crowd of unarmed strikers, killing two and injuring many others. The Haas–Dunnigan mediation plan of July 25, 1934, which proposed ending the strike, reinstating all workers, and holding National Labor Board elections—but which was effectively sabotaged when the employers demanded dropping key clauses like minimum wages and full reinstatement—illustrated how employer resistance repeatedly blocked compromise during the strike. Despite the violence, the strike continued, and eventually, the workers' demands were met. The success of the strike helped to galvanize the labor movement in the United States and led to the establishment of the Teamsters union, which went on to become one of the most powerful labor unions in the country.Philip A. Korth, Minneapolis teamsters strike of 1934 (MSU Press, 19950.
Textile strikes 1934
The textile strike of 1934 was a nationwide three-week effort by a million textile workers, especially in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. At the same time there were local strikes in the North led by the United Textile Workers of America (UTW) of the American Federation of Labor. The Southern strike was led by the newly formed National Textile Workers Union (NTWU), and focused on wages and working conditions. The industry was hard hit by the depression and management had imposed new control that were despised, especially struggling employers imposed the hated stretchout tactics of reduced breaks, increased machine-tending and quotas, and more intense supervision. The new rules violated the informal work standards the workers themselves had developed, and they though they had the active support of President Roosevelt. The textile industry was one of the largest employers in the South at the time, and it fought back hard. They hired replacement workers and had the governors call in the National Guard. In the North strikers generally were successful. In the South the strike failed. Few strikers were rehired, and the union movement was demoralized.John A. Salmond, The General Textile Strike of 1934: From Maine to Alabama (U of Missouri Press, 2002).Janet Irons, Testing the New Deal: The General Textile Strike of 1934 in the American South (U of Illinois Press. 2000) online.
Kohler strike
The Kohler strike began in the small town of Kohler, Wisconsin, on April 5, 1934, when over 2,000 workers walked off the job at Kohler Co. They demanded higher pay and better working conditions. The company hired replacement workers. It turned violent on April 20, when police fired on a group of picketers, killing two and injuring many others. The incident became known as the "Kohler massacre" and caused widespread sympathy for the strikers. The strike was settled on June 6, 1934, when the Kohler Company agreed to a 15% wage increase and improvements in working conditions. The strike was hailed a major victory for labor unions and helped pave the way for increased worker protections and unionization across the nation. Management never accepted the notion that national policy called for recognition of unions that had worker support. Kohler mobilized national anti-union interests and became the scene of three more decades of bitter labor disputes that were expensive for both sides.Walter H. Uphoff, Kohler on Strike: Thirty Years of Conflict (Beacon Press, 1966).
Rubber in 1936 Rubber workers struck five different rubber companies over the course of several months in Akron, Ohio. The workers at the largest factory, Goodyear invented a new tactic—the sitdown strike whereby the strikers seize the plant, stop production, and keep strikebreakers out. Goodyear gave up, and recognized the United Rubber Workers (URW). It was a major victory for the labor movement, established the United Rubber Workers as a major union in the rubber industry, and provided a new tactic for future labor struggles.Daniel Nelson, "Origins of the sit‐down era: Worker militancy and innovation in the rubber industry, 1934–38." Labor History 23.2 (1982): 198-225. https://doi.org/10.1080/00236568208584653Bernstein, 1970 pp 598–602.
GM in 1937