1922 New England Textile Strike

Industry wide labor strike February 2025 New England Textile Strike of 1922 Labor unions Militia_in_Pawtucket.png Militia escorting strikebreakers in Pawtucket, R.I 1922 1 23 – 1922 11Thomas Jr. Edmund B. January 1987 The New England Textile Strike of 1922: Focus on Fitchburg https://www.westfield.ma.edu/historical-journal/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Thomas-combined.pdf Historical Journal of Massachusetts Institute for Massachusetts Studies and Westfield State University 15 1 (September 11, 1922 y ago) New England, United States 20% wage cut Increase in weekly hours Reversal of 20% wage cut for most. Textile workers UTW, IWW, and ATW Textile mill owners Rhode Island State Guard Ben Legere (IWW) Fred Harwood (ATW) Thomas McMahon (UTW) William Madison Wood 68,000–85,000 At least 1 to 2 dead,17 to 50 wounded The New England Textile Strike was a strike led by members of the United Textile Workers of America (UTW) principally in the U.S. states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.E. Tilden Leonard 1923 New England Textile Strike https://www.jstor.org/stable/41828627 Monthly Labor Review 16 5 13–36 41828627 Throughout the duration of the strike, an estimated 68,000–85,000 workers refused to work.1922-02-14 STRIKES SHUT DOWN NEW ENGLAND MILLS; From 40,000 to 50,000 Textile Operatives Quit Work in Wage Cut Protest. DAY PASSES WITHOUT RIOT Rhode Island Troops Still Held in Armories in Readiness for Possible Duty. AMOSKEAG PLANT CLOSED Largest Cotton Mill in the World, With 15,000 Employes, Unable to Run. en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1922/02/14/archives/strikes-shut-down-new-england-mills-from-40000-to-50000-textile.html 2023-04-02 0362-4331 Alongside the UTW, the IWW and ATW played major organizing roles within it, with the strike lasting for around 200 days at most mills. The UTW and ATW led Rhode Island. The IWW, ATW, and UTW led Massachusetts. Lastly, the UTW completely led New Hampshire. Background 1912 Lawrence textile strike The strike has its beginnings fourteen months earlier. In December 1920, textile workers in New England accepted a 22.5% percent cut.Foner Philip Sheldon History of the labor movement in the United States. Volume 9: The T.U.E.L. to the end of the Gompers era Foner Philip Sheldon 1991 Intl Publ 978-0-7178-0674-4 New York 19–31 Chapter 2: New England Textile Strike, 1922 This cut in wages was most prominently done by The American Woolen Company, owned by William M. Wood, who announced this reduction across all 50 of the mills in the company in January, 1921.1921-01-11 AMERICAN WOOLENS MAKE BIG WAGE CUT; President Wood Announces 22 Per Cent. Reduction Is Made Necessary by Public. FIFTY MILLS ARE INVOLVED Reading Iron Cuts Wages 20 Per Cent., Whittal Carpet and Shipyard 25 Per Cent. Each. (Published 1921) https://www.nytimes.com/1921/01/11/archives/american-woolens-make-big-wage-cut-president-wood-announces-22-per.html 2025-07-31 en The American Woolen Company was one of the largest textile company within the continental US, controlling 20% of all woolen production in the country.Frederick Zappalla, "A Financial History of the American Woolen Company". (MBA Thesis, University of Pennsylvania, 1947) However, in January 1922 this was pushed further. New England mill owners demanded an additional 20% reduction in wages, while New Hampshire and Rhode IslandIn Massachusetts, the law already limited hours to a 48 hour workweek for women and children. owners specifically attempted to restore the 54 hour week at the same time. This set off a wave of prolonged walkouts which would develop into the New England textile strike. In Maine, textile workers did not strike, while in Massachusetts workers at a few of the mills decided to more thoroughly organize before striking. In Connecticut, for the two mills where the wage reduction was made, also did not strike. In addition to strikes by workers directly affected by the wage cuts, sympathy strikes also occurred throughout. Many of the striking workers were not organized into a union before this. More than half of the strikers in Rhode Island did not belong to a union, while in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, three out of four did not have a union. The lack of wage reduction announcements in the highly organized textile cities of Fall River and New Bedford, Massachusetts, also encouraged workers to organize, in order to receive the same protections. Strike no July 2023 On January 23, 1922, weavers at the Royal Mill in the Pawtuxet Valley of Rhode Island walked out, shutting down the mills. They then marched through Pawtucket, calling out workers at each mill, with many joining the strike. In the Blackstone Valley the United Textile Workers locals responded to the mill owners' announcements, calling a strike. The non-unionized workers of the Blackstone mills immediately joined after hearing about the UTW local's decision to strike. By February, the mills of both the valleys were shut down, and the strike had spread to textile firms in Providence, Rhode Island, Lawrence, Massachusetts, and Manchester, New Hampshire. By February 14, 40,000 to 50,000 textile workers were on strike in New England. The United Textile Workers (UTW) played a major within the broader strike(s), dispatching organizers to many mill towns, both to aid and to claim leadership over the strikes. However, their conservative approach remained criticized by the more radical workers and hindered effectiveness in some cases. During the strike, 18 injunctions were levied against strikers in an attempt to prevent picketing and striking. By April 1922, according to a column released in the UTW's official magazine The Textile Worker, 85,000 textile workers were out on strike, with 8,000 out in Pawtuxet Mills, 15,000 in Blackstone Valley, 33,000 in New Hampshire mills, 13,000 at Lawrence Mills and 16,000 in the other New England towns.https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=hpZaAAAAYAAJ&pg=GBS.PP6&hl=en The Textile Worker: Official Journal of the United Textile Workers of America 1922 United Textile Workers of America 10 18–20 en +Strike areashttps://play.google.com/books/reader?id=Rps7AAAAMAAJ&pg=GBS.PA104&hl=en The American Labor Year Book 1924 Rand School of Social Science 104–106 en New England Textile StrikeRhode IslandBlackstone ValleyIncluding Central Falls and Cumberland (Berkeley Mill Village, Ashton, Lonsdale)PawtucketPawtuxet ValleyIncluding West Warwick (Crompton, River Point, Pontiac, Apponaug, Buttonwoods, Arctic, Phenix, Natick), Harris, and ArkwrightProvidenceMassachusettsLawrenceLowellSouth AttleboroMethuenFitchburgWareNew HampshireManchesterSuncookSomersworthDoverNashuaNewmarketExeter Rhode Island The strike began at the Royal Mill, West Warwick in the Pawtuxet Valley and spread quickly. With the Blackstone Valley quickly following. In the first day, at least 18 plants had gone on strike, by the sixth day 25 plants had closed. Pawtuxet Valley thumb|UTW President Thomas McMahon addressing textile strikers on capitol steps of Providence, circa March 9, 1922|249x249px On April 29, Deputy Sheriffs began serving eviction notices to the families of strikers that occupied company houses within the Pawtuxet Valley. This included the Interlaken Mills in Arkwright and Harris, and the Hope Company Mills in Hope and Phenix.1922-04-30 TEXTILE MILLS BEGIN EVICTION OF STRIKERS; Notices to Leave Company Houses Served in Pawtuxet Valley – Court Enjoins Picketing. en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1922/04/30/archives/textile-mills-begin-eviction-of-strikers-notices-to-leave-company.html 2023-07-19 0362-4331 Pawtucket and shooting On the morning of February 21, in Pawtucket, police shot into a crowd of a 1,000 people who had gathered at the plant of the Jenckes Spinning Company.Humanities National Endowment for the 1922-02-21 The Evening World. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887–1931, February 21, 1922, Final Edition, Image 1 https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030193/1922-02-21/ed-1/seq-1/ 2023-07-15 1941-0654 Juan D'Assumpcau,Incorrectly referred to as Joseph Assuncao in some sources a nearby grocer clerk, was killed by police fire, and ended up being shot in the backside seven times.Lyons Eugene April 1922 Fighting the 54-Hour Week: The Textile Revolt in New England https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/laborage/v11n04-apr-1922-LA.pdf Labor Age, April 1922 11–13 (pdf, 13–16) 17 others ended up wounded, some from earlier police beatings, and eight from the shots. A local newspaper from the time gives a higher number of casualties, with two men killed and 50 wounded, ten severely.February 21, 1922 Two men killed; 50 wounded in strike riot; National Guard troops ordered on strike duty. The Providence News. https://books.google.com/books?id=M9ViAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA2 Another source from the time also claims two people were killed.Natick Textile Strike Riots http://rihs.minisisinc.com/rihs/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/RIHS_M3/LINK/SISN+9643?SESSIONSEARCH live https://web.archive.org/web/20230719000000/http://rihs.minisisinc.com/rihs/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/RIHS_M3/LINK/SISN+9643?SESSIONSEARCH July 19, 2023 2023-07-20 rihs.minisisinc.com Film note reads "2 killed, many hurt in big textile strike riots. Martial law declared as troops are rushed to quell disorder." Alt URL Reportedly before the shooting, Pawtucket Mayor Robert A. Kenyon at the plant read the Riot Act out loud. He then told the patrolmen to be careful but to do their duty and to "shoot if necessary". Another account claims Mayor Kenyon fired their pistol up into the air shortly before the shooting occurred.thumb|Machine gun on roof of Natick Mill.On February 23, 5,000–7,000Tilden Leonard E. 1923 New England Textile Strike https://www.jstor.org/stable/41828627 Monthly Labor Review 16 5 13–36 41828627 0098-1818 marched in the funeral procession.195px Historical Footage Natick Textile Strike (1922) rightFollowing the event, militiaThe Cavalry Coast Artillery, the Field Artillery, and the Sanitary Troop of Rhode Island. 49 officers and 912 men. were called in by Rhode Island governor Emery J. San Souci, with machine guns mounted to the roofs of Pontiac Mill and nearby Natick Mill. They were used to escort strikebreakers. Some were stationed at Pawtucket, while the others were stationed at Crompton, part of the Pawtuxet River Valley. Later, one silk weaving mill not affected by a wage cut, joined the strike in response to militia soldiers parading around in the mill they worked at. On June 5, Pontiac Mills started evicting 150 people, 50 families from their mill-owned homes.June 5, 1922 The Pontiac Mills ousts 150 people from their homes, soldiers aiding sheriff's deputies. The Providence News https://books.google.com/books?id=ZNBiAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA1 Latter that afternoon, Rhode Island Judge Justice Tanner issued a restraining order not allowing the eviction of tenants in either Pontiac or Natick. However, It's unclear whether or not this was enforced, with two families in Pontiac and five in Natick already evicted.1922-06-06 INJUNCTION HALTS STRIKE EVICTIONS; Rhode Island Judge Grants Plea of Textile Strikers in Pontiac and Natick. TROUBLE IN TWO VILLAGES Six New Hampshire Cotton Mills Reopen, but Few Workers Enter the Gates. en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1922/06/06/archives/injunction-halts-strike-evictions-rhode-island-judge-grants-plea-of.html 2023-07-19 0362-4331 Massachusetts Lowell On February 13, the strike began in Massachusetts starting from two manufacturing mills in Lowell. On July 10, another Lowell Mill joined the strike, and another on July 17. Fitchburg In Fitchburg, 2,400 people worked in cotton textile mills, but only 300 were organized with the ATW. Workers there voted to delay the strike to ally with and organize the other workers not a part of the union. By March 1, now with 900 ATW members, they called the strike. Lawrence 1922 New England textile strike. Police guard at lower Pacific Mills. (Lawrence, Massachusetts) Part B.jpg Strikers outside of the Pacific lower mills plant during 1922 New England textile strike (Lawrence, Massachusetts).jpg horizontal Police guard lower Pacific Mills. Strikers outside lower Pacific Mills Lawrence, Massachusetts 400 center On March 27, striking started in Lawrence at seven mills. The organizing at the mills was contested. As the UTW refused to cooperate with other unions, so the I.W.W. held elections in Lawrence for a fifty-member strike committee. The I.W.W. played a crucial role in the organizing within Lawrence, mobilizing the mass meetings, rallies, and pickets. The UTW's refusal to cooperate with other unions (I.W.W., Mulespinners, AFL Loomfixer's) weakened the Lawrence mill's strike. At the time Ben Legere, an I.W.W. leader, had proposed a joint strike committee with representatives from each striking union, which the UTW officials refused. Outside Lawrence, the UTW and ATW broadly and successfully cooperated with each other in organizing the textile mills and supporting the broad strike. Late in August, it was announced that wages would be restored to their previous levels before the reduction, with back pay, at the Lawrence mills. This was the first break of mill owners, to concede to reversing the wage cut, which caused many other mills to follow suit. Methuen At Methuen, two mills went on strike. New Hampshire Textile striker mid-winter picket line in Manchester, N.H outside Amoskeag Mill.png Picket line at Amoskeag mill March 13, 1922.jpg Weavers picketing at Amoskeag mill entrance - March 13, 1922. Mid-winter picket line in front of Amoskeag Mill,Published March 1922 370 On February 2, 1922, Amoskeag Mills announced all departments would receive a pay reduction of 20 percent, with hours increased from 48 to 54 hours per week. With support from the UTW, millworkers decided to strike when the change went into effect on February 13.Leader Josie Albertson-Grove New Hampshire Union 2022-02-12 100 years since Amoskeag strike that marked the beginning of the end for Manchester's mills https://www.unionleader.com/news/history/100-years-since-amoskeag-strike-that-marked-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-manchesters-mills/article_d2457b2c-7e87-5a61-8695-0a6b63f98a94.html 2023-05-22 UnionLeader.com enFebruary 2, 1922 Wage Cut Ordered for Feb. 1320 Per Cent of Hourly Rate; Week Lengthened Six Hours The Manchester Leader (and Evening Union) https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/unionleader.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/c0/0c0a8cbf-ce1b-57d8-880c-2771690c5668/6206dbec1f6e9.image.jpg live July 19, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20220315035115/https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/unionleader.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/c0/0c0a8cbf-ce1b-57d8-880c-2771690c5668/6206dbec1f6e9.image.jpg March 15, 2022 On February 13, 14 mills struck with all but three having to close during the strike. Manchester thumb|192x192px|A large crowd in Jutras Square jeering at company operatives leaving Amoskeag's Coolidge Mill.- June 7, 1922 On April 10, several thousand strikers marched in the streets of Manchester.Unknown Banners Urge 48 Hour Week: Manchester N.H Textile Strikers Hold Immense Parade 1922-04-10 https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/603733462/ Fall River Daily Evening News Mon Apr 10 1922 2023-07-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20230717000000/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/603733462/ deviated July 17, 2023 Alt URL The parade was voted on by its members the night before, during which they also voted to continue striking. The intent of the parade was to be a demonstration of the strike's strength.Unknown Vote to Continue Strike in Manchester 1922-04-10 https://www.newspapers.com/image/197993918/ The Burlington Free Press Mon Apr 10 1922, Page 1 2023-07-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20230717000000/https://www.newspapers.com/image/197993918/ deviated July 17, 2023 Alt URL Strikers carried slogans emphasizing the 48 hour week. In August, Amoskeag restored the pre-strike wage scale. However, workers continued to strike for a return to the 48-hour week, as well as assurances that strike leaders would not be blacklisted. On November 26, strikers returned to work with their demands partially unmet. But some hoped that the state House of Representatives—controlled by Democrats for the first time since 1914—would consider enacting a 48-hour law. However, the Republican-controlled Senate defeated the bill.Hareven Tamara Family Time and Industrial Time University Press of America 1982 0-8191-9026-8 Lanham, MD 329 See also 1922_New_England_Textile_Strike 1922 New England Textile Strike right Great Railroad Strike of 1922 UMW General coal strike (1922) US Textile Workers' Strike of 1934 Notes Further reading https://read.dukeupress.edu/radical-history-review/article/1978/17/153/52379/Born-Out-of-Strikes-An-Interview-with-Luigi "Born Out of Strikes": An Interview with Luigi Nardella Radical History Review 1978-05-01 1978 17 153–160 en 10.1215/01636545-1978-17-153 0163-6545 subscription References Category:1922 labor disputes and strikes Category:Textile and clothing labor disputes in the United States Category:Labor disputes in Massachusetts Category:Labor disputes in New Hampshire Category:Labor disputes in Rhode Island Category:United Textile Workers of America Category:1922 in Massachusetts Category:1922 in New Hampshire Category:1922 in Rhode Island