1913 Ipswich Mills strike

Labor strike in Massachusetts, US February 2023 February 2023 1913 Ipswich Mills strike Strike Meeting in the Greek Church Yard, 1913 Ipswich Mill Strike.png A meeting of strikers at a local Greek churchyard April 22 – July 31, 1913note Sources are unclear regarding an official end date for the strike. While an August 1913 article in the International Socialist Review mentioned that the strike was still ongoing in early July,Biscay 1913 92 Ipswich historian Gordon Harris stated in 2018 that, "By the end of the month the strike was broken, and laborers went back to work". July 31 thus represents the latest end date for the strike.Harris 2018(04 22 1913 07 31 1913) Ipswich, Massachusetts, United States 20 percent wage increase * Picketing Strike action Walkout * "Bloody Tuesday": Police fire into a large group of strikers, killing one and injuring several others Strike collapses after strike leaders are arrested and workers begin to be evicted from their company-owned houses Industrial Workers of the World Ipswich Mills 1 The 1913 Ipswich Mills strike was a labor strike involving textile workers in Ipswich, Massachusetts, United States. The strike began on April 22 and ended in defeat for the strikers by the end of July. The strike was organized by the Industrial Workers of the World, a labor union that had begun organizing the workers of the Ipswich Mills, a hosiery mill, in 1912. By 1913, many immigrant workers of the mill, primarily Greek and Polish people, began to demand an increase in wages, and on April 22, a walkout of a majority of the plant's workers (as many as 1,500) caused the mill to temporarily close. Town officials responded to the strike by bringing in additional police officers from nearby municipalities, and local media disparaged the strikers. On June 10, in an event known locally as "Bloody Tuesday", police opened fire on a group of strikers near the gates of the mill, killing one bystander and injuring several others. Afterwards, several union leaders were arrested, and the company began to evict striking workers from their company-owned homes. By the end of July, the strike had collapsed, and an October article in The Quincy Daily Ledger stated that by that time, many of the strikers had left Ipswich. Despite attracting national attention at the time, the strike ultimately fell into obscurity in Ipswich. However, since the 2010s, there has been increased interest in the historical event, which have included a presentation on the strike at the Ipswich Museum in 2013 (the 100th anniversary of the strike) and the installation of a memorial plaque for the strike and "Bloody Tuesday" in 2022. Background thumb|upright=1.35|The Ipswich Mills, 1912 In the 1910s, the town of Ipswich, Massachusetts, was home to about 6,000 people.Biscay 1913 90 Like many towns in the region during this time, Ipswich had a strong textile industry and was home to a large population of immigrants,Ashlock 2022a primarily Greeks and Poles.Lytle 2021 The municipality operated as a company town for the Ipswich Mills, a large hosiery mill in downtown Ipswich.Lytle 2021 Stockholders in this mill included several influential figures in the state, such as William Loring, a member of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and William Lawrence, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts,Biscay 1913 90 while the mill town itself was led by George A. Schofield, a local politician and publisher of the Ipswich Chronicle newspaper.Lytle 2021 Workers in the mill often dealt with poor working conditions and low wages.Ashlock 2022a They were paid according to a piece rate and made between $2 and $7 (equivalent to between $US 2 1913 and $US 7 1913 in 2021) per 72-hour week.note Sources vary on the exact range of pay. Stewart Lytle of The Town Common newspaper stated in 2021 and 2022 articles that the workers made between $2 and $7 per week.Lytle 2021Lytle 2022 Meanwhile, J. S. Biscay wrote in a 1913 article in the International Socialist Review that workers made between $2 and $6.Biscay 1913 90 In a 1984 interview, Steve Georgakopoulos, who worked at the mill in 1913, stated that he made $4.16 per week, with a range of between $2.50 and $7.Harris 2018 These conditions made labor organizing an attractive choice for the workers, and in 1912, C. L. Pingree, a representative of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), arrived and began to organize the workers with that labor union.Biscay 1913 90 The IWW had been established in 1905 and had had success in organizing millworkers in the region.Ashlock 2022a In 1912, Pingree pushed for the Ipswich Mills to enforce a state law stipulating a maximum workweek of 54 hours for the millworkers.Biscay 1913 90note According to a 1913 article in the International Socialist Review, the millowners had ignored the 54-hour law,Biscay 1913 90 a statement supported by a 1984 interview with a worker of the mill, who stated that many people at that time, himself included, worked 72 hours per week at the mill.Harris 2018 Additionally, the mill changed its policy regarding its notice period and paid out about $60,000 (US 60000 1913 eq -3 $) in back pay to workers who had previously quit without giving the company two weeks' notice.Biscay 1913 90 During this time, many of the mill workers became IWW members.Biscay 1913 90 As the workers began to organize, tensions began to rise between them and the millowners, and this reached a peak in mid-1913.Ashlock 2022a Workers began to demand better working conditions and higher wages,Lytle 2022Ipswich Local News 2022 with a pay increase of at least 20 percent.note Sources vary on the exact demands of the workers during this time. Stewart Lytle, in 2021 and 2022 articles for The Town Common, states that the workers wanted a 20 percent wage increase,Lytle 2021Lytle 2022 a figure also given by Ipswich historian Gordon Harris in 2018.Harris 2018 However, in a 1914 article for The Survey, Edgar Fletcher Allen reported that, when asked about their demands, some workers stated that they wanted a 40 percent increase.Allen 1914 217 A labor strike was organized to push for these demands,Lytle 2021 with the IWW previously having led another textile strike in nearby Lawrence, Massachusetts.Ashlock 2022a That strike, which had involved about 20,000 mostly immigrant workers, had ended in success for the union, with an increase in wages for the workers.Ashlock 2022a Course of the strike Early strike action On April 22, the strike began with a walkout that consisted of a majority of the workers at the mill, up to 1,500 people in total.Biscay 1913 90 These strikers consisted primarily of non-English speaking immigrants, while about 500 English-speaking non-immigrants remained working.Harris 2018 The strike had the effect of idling the mill for about a month.Biscay 1913 90–91 Over the next several weeks, several hundred strikers, primarily English-speakers, began to defect and return to work, though many Greek and Polish workers remained on the picket line.Biscay 1913 91 The millowners and town officials, such as Schofield,Lytle 2021 were sternly against the strikers' demands and began to bring in strikebreakers from Boston.Lytle 2022 During the strike, additional police officers were brought in from nearby towns,Ashlock 2022a such as Lawrence, Beverly, and Salem.Biscay 1913 91 This increased expenditure for police put a strain on the town's budget, and a meeting of town officials was scheduled for June 10 to discuss allocating more funds for the police.Biscay 1913 91 "Bloody Tuesday" "They shot the Greek girl and killed her … She wasn't even a striker. I come out and tried to help, and they shoot me in the leg. My sister comes out with a baby in her hands, and they shoot her. My second sister called for help, and they club her. My mother comes out, and they started to shoot her. All they wanted is to shoot the goddamn foreigners" -Steve Georgakopoulos, a millworker at the time of the strike and eyewitness to the shooting, during a 1984 interviewAshlock 2022a right 400px On the evening of Tuesday, June 10, a large group of strikers were picketing near the front gates of the mill.Biscay 1913 91 According to a contemporary report from the International Socialist Review, there was a confrontation between some of the picketers and strikebreakers, and a group of police began to arrest some of the strikers.Biscay 1913 91 A town councilor read the riot act to the group, but as many of the picketers spoke only Greek, they probably did not understand what was being said.Lytle 2021Lytle 2022 As police continued to try to disperse the crowd, the strikers resisted, and police began to fire their guns into the crowd.Graham Gurr 1969 252 Within five minutes, between 50 and 100 shots had been fired by the police.Lytle 2021Lytle 2022 The incident, known locally as "Bloody Tuesday",Lytle 2022 resulted in the death of one woman and injuries to seven others.Graham Gurr 1969 252note The figure of seven injuries comes from a 1969 report prepared by historians Hugh Davis Graham and Ted Robert Gurr for the federal government of the United States.Graham Gurr 1969 252 However, a contemporary report in the International Socialist Review states that ten people in total were treated for injuries at local hospitals following the shooting.Biscay 1913 91 The woman, Nicholetta Paudelopoulou,note Also given in some sources as "Nicolette Pandepolus",Zagarella 2013 "Nicoletta Papadopoulou",Harris 2018 and "Nicoletes Pandeloppoulou".The Quincy Daily Ledger 1913 4 was struck in the head with a bullet and declared dead shortly after arriving at a local hospital.Lytle 2021Ashlock 2022a Paudelopoulou was a worker at the mill who had not been involved in the strike, but was returning home from the mill when the shooting began.Lytle 2022 Many of the injured were treated at Salem Hospital and faced steep medical bills upon their release.Ashlock 2022a Following the shooting, several individuals associated with the strike, including three IWW leaders,Ashlock 2022a were arrested.Lytle 2021Lytle 2022 Those arrested were charged with murder,Biscay 1913 91 as police officers claimed that Paudelopoulou had been killed by someone firing a gun from a nearby second-story vantage point.Lytle 2021 Additionally, the police claimed that they had been fired on first before they began to fire into the crowd.Lytle 2021Lytle 2022 However, a medical examiner ruled that that was impossible and that Paudelopoulou's gunshot wound had most likely been caused by someone firing level to her.Lytle 2021 Additionally, during the ensuing trial, no evidence was presented to substantiate the police's claim that they had been initially fired upon.Lytle 2021Lytle 2022 The case ultimately collapsed due to a lack of evidence,Lytle 2021Lytle 2022 and the IWW leaders were found innocent.Zagarella 2013 No police were ever charged for the death of Paudelopoulou.Lytle 2021Lytle 2022 During the period immediately following the shooting, the Ipswich Chronicle published a series of reports that disparaged the strikers.Lytle 2021Lytle 2022 Later strike activities thumb|upright=1.35|Workers evicted during the strike On the evening of June 10, the same day as "Bloody Tuesday", the town government appropriated a further $12,000 (US 12000 1913 eq -3 $) for the police.Biscay 1913 91 Following the shooting, the police began to crack down on meetings and parades held by the strikers, and, in an effort to avoid this, strikers began to hold meetings in the yard of a local Greek church.Biscay 1913 91 However, police arrested many outside speakers who were present at these meetings.Biscay 1913 92 By early July, the strike was still ongoing, but around this time, the mill began to evict striking families from their homes, a possibility that the mill had made clear much earlier in the strike.Ashlock 2022a At least 14 families were evicted from their company-owned houses during the strike.Harris 2018 According to Ipswich historian Gordon Harris, the strike petered out and was over by the end of July.Harris 2018 In October 1913, The Quincy Daily Ledger reported that, by that time, many of the strikers who had been involved in the strike had been evicted and had relocated from Ipswich.The Quincy Daily Ledger 1913 4 Aftermath At the time, the strike received national attention, including coverage in a newspaper as far away as Honolulu.Zagarella 2013 However, over the next several decades, there was little acknowledgement of the strike from the town itself, as highlighted in a 2013 report on the strike given by several Ipswich High School students at the Ipswich Museum.Zagarella 2013 In October 2021, the Ipswich Historical Commission voted to create a plaque commemorating the strike and the death of Paudelopoulou.Lytle 2021 On June 10, 2022, the 109th anniversary of "Bloody Tuesday",Lytle 2022 the plaque was dedicated near the site of the event,Ashlock 2022bIpswich Local News 2022 on property now owned by EBSCO Industries.Lytle 2021 The event included a procession of dozens of individuals from the Assumption of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church to the plaque in downtown.Ashlock 2022b See also Ipswich Mills Historic District Notes note References Sources 30em yes Allen Edgar Fletcher May 23, 1914 Kellogg Paul U. Paul Underwood Kellogg Aftermath of Industrial War at Ipswich, Mass. https://archive.org/details/surveycharityorg32survrich/ The Survey New York City XXXII 8 216–217 Ashlock Tristan March 27, 2022a Acknowledging History: The Strike of 1913 and Ipswich's Commitment to Remembrance http://thelocalne.ws/2022/03/27/acknowledging-history-the-strike-of-1913-and-ipswichs-commitment-to-remembrance/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20220604103723/http://thelocalne.ws/2022/03/27/acknowledging-history-the-strike-of-1913-and-ipswichs-commitment-to-remembrance/ June 4, 2022 February 20, 2023 Ipswich Local News Ashlock Tristan June 14, 2022b Ipswich dedicates memorial to victims of 1913 Ipswich Mill strike http://thelocalne.ws/2022/06/14/ipswich-dedicates-memorial-to-victims-of-1913-ipswich-mill-strike/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20220828023357/http://thelocalne.ws/2022/06/14/ipswich-dedicates-memorial-to-victims-of-1913-ipswich-mill-strike/ August 28, 2022 February 20, 2023 Ipswich Local News Biscay J. S. August 1913 Kerr Charles H. Charles H. Kerr The Ipswich Strike https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/isr/v14n02-aug-1913-ISR-gog-ocr.pdf International Socialist Review Chicago Charles H. Kerr & Co. XIV 2 90–92 Marxists Internet Archive Graham Hugh Davis https://books.google.com/books?id=y_s0G_gPdnkC Violence in America: Historical and Comparative Perspectives Gurr Ted Robert June 1969 U.S. Government Printing Office A Report to the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence I Washington, D.C. Hugh Davis Graham Ted Robert Gurr 76601931 Harris Gordon January 24, 2018 Police open fire at the Ipswich Mills Strike, June 10, 1913 https://historicipswich.org/2021/03/24/ipswich-mills-strike/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20221001060444/https://historicipswich.org/2021/03/24/ipswich-mills-strike/ October 1, 2022 February 20, 2023 Historic Ipswich May 30, 2022 Bloody Tuesday memorial set for June 10 https://thelocalne.ws/2022/05/30/bloody-tuesday-memorial-set-for-june-10/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20220607025545/https://thelocalne.ws/2022/05/30/bloody-tuesday-memorial-set-for-june-10/ June 7, 2022 February 20, 2023 Ipswich Local News Ipswich Local News 2022 Lytle Stewart October 13, 2021 Ipswich Mill Strike to be Honored https://thetowncommon.com/2021/10/13/ipswich-mill-strike-to-be-honored/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20221209194510/https://thetowncommon.com/2021/10/13/ipswich-mill-strike-to-be-honored/ December 9, 2022 February 20, 2023 The Town Common Lytle Stewart June 22, 2022 'Bloody Tuesday' Strike Honored https://thetowncommon.com/2022/06/22/bloody-tuesday-strike-honored/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20221128090711/https://thetowncommon.com/2022/06/22/bloody-tuesday-strike-honored/ November 28, 2022 February 20, 2023 The Town Common October 17, 1913 Riot Trial Begun 28 4 The Quincy Daily Ledger 241 https://archive.org/details/Daily_Ledger_1913-10-Oct/ The Quincy Daily Ledger 1913 Zagarella Gus December 28, 2013 December 27, 2013 Students shine light on century-old Ipswich tragedy https://www.wickedlocal.com/story/chronicle-transcript/2013/12/28/students-shine-light-on-century/40748439007/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20230220205214/https://www.wickedlocal.com/story/chronicle-transcript/2013/12/28/students-shine-light-on-century/40748439007/ February 20, 2023 February 20, 2023 Wicked Local Gannett Further reading Muldoon John P. June 10, 2015 Riots, Ethnic Tension: Police Open Fire, 1 Killed, 7 Injured http://thelocalne.ws/2015/06/10/police-open-fire-1-killed-7-injured/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20221006164748/https://thelocalne.ws/2015/06/10/police-open-fire-1-killed-7-injured/ October 6, 2022 February 20, 2023 Ipswich Local News 2022 March 8, 2017 A 27-year-old Woman Died in a 1913 Ipswich Mill Strike; She Never Did Get Justice https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/27-year-old-woman-died-1913-ipswich-mill-strike-never-get-justice/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20221202064105/https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/27-year-old-woman-died-1913-ipswich-mill-strike-never-get-justice/ December 2, 2022 February 20, 2023 New England Historical Society June 11, 1913 Riot Bullets Kill Woman, Hurt Seven; Many Others Injured in Strikers' Battle with Police at Ipswich Mill. 7 The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1913/06/11/archives/riot-bullets-kill-woman-hurt-seven-many-others-injured-in-strikers.html live subscription February 20, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230220200947/https://www.nytimes.com/1913/06/11/archives/riot-bullets-kill-woman-hurt-seven-many-others-injured-in-strikers.html February 20, 2023 0362-4331 External links zwwX2M4isvE 1913 Ipswich Mill Strike Category:1910s strikes in the United States Category:1913 in Massachusetts Category:1913 labor disputes and strikes Category:Organized events in Essex County, Massachusetts Category:Ipswich, Massachusetts Category:Labor disputes in Massachusetts Category:Labor disputes led by the Industrial Workers of the World Category:Progressive Era in the United States Category:Riots and civil disorder in Massachusetts Category:Textile and clothing labor disputes in the United States