1885 Yonkers carpet weavers strike

1885 labor strike in New York, US September 2026 September 2026 1885 Yonkers carpet weavers strike Alexander Smith and Sons carpet weaving mills in Yonkers, New York.jpg Alexander Smith & Sons weaving mills (1886)Levine 1981 162 Old illustration of an aerial view of a complex of buildings beside a bridge and along a river, with smoke billowing out of the buildings. Text below reads: "Weaving Mills" 1885 2 20 1885 7 16 Yonkers, New York, US * Carpet weavers Knights of Labor * Alexander Smith & Sons Retaliation Restored wages, no more unfair pay docking, no more tyranny from the boss, reinstate fired union members. Company agreed to recognize the union, raise pay, and reevaluate the docking system. The union agreed to provide notice before striking and try arbitration first. On February 20, 1885, carpet weavers at Alexander Smith & Sons mills in Yonkers, New York, United States, went on strike after the company fired several women who had joined the newly-formed union.Carpet Workers on Strike February 21, 1885 The New York Times 8 https://www.nytimes.com/1885/02/21/archives/carpet-workers-on-strike.htmlLevine 1981 162 The union had been organizing for the better part of a year, forming their own chapter of the Knights of Labor and preparing to demand better wages and working conditions at the mills.Levine 1981 160–162 Workers at the mills were predominantly young immigrants, with women making up approximately 75 percent of the workforce.Levine 1981 158 When the weavers went on strike and walked out, Smith responded by locking them out of the mills.Levine 1981 162–163On This Day in Yonkers History… February 15, 2024 https://yonkerstimes.com/on-this-day-in-yonkers-history-170/ Yonkers Times September 15, 2026 What started with a group of weavers from the tapestry department at 10 AM grew to over 3,000 strikers by the end of the day.Levine 1981 162–163 The following week, the strikers released a statement with their four core demands:Levine 1981 162 First, the restoration of wages paid before December 1, 1884; Second, a readjustment of the arbitrary and unjust system of docking adopted by the firm; Third, a reinstatement of all employees unjustly discharged and no one to be discharged in the future except for cause assigned; Fourth, NO MORE BOSS OR SUPERINTENDENT TYRANNY. [emphasis in source] Statement from the striking workers, printed in the Yonkers' Statesman on February 27, 1885.Levine 1981 162 Footnote 15 The demand to end "TYRANNY" at the mills was a reference to a new disciplinary docking system that had been introduced over the past year.Levine 1981 163 This system punished workers for many social and human behaviors: talking with other workers, eating meals with other workers, laughing out loud, and looking out a window (even just to get some fresh air) were all punishable behaviors under the new docking system rules, according to the workers.Levine 1981 163–164 Sick and bereaved workers who missed a shift were also docked and risked being "discharged" (or fired) by management.Levine 1981 164 On July 16, after several months on strike, a settlement was reached in which the company agreed to increase workers' wages by rolling back a previous wage reduction and adding a 10 percent advance.Levine 1981 173 Workers would no longer be punished for membership in the union, and the workers who had been fired back in February would be rehired.Levine 1981 173 The company also promised to address the docking system.Levine 1981 173 In return, the union agreed to provide notice in the future if they intended to strike, and they also agreed to arbitration as a first step. The union declared victory.Levine 1981 173 References Bibliography Levine Susan 'Honor Each Noble Maid': Women Workers and the Yonkers Carpet Weavers' Strike of 1885 New York History 62 2 1981 153–176 23169768 Category:1880s strikes in the United States Category:1885 labor disputes and strikes Category:Labor disputes in New York (state)