1910 Chicago Garment Workers' Strike
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The 1910 Chicago garment workers' strike, also known as the Hart, Schaffner and Marx (HSM) strike, was a
labor strike Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became co ...
established and led by women in which diverse workers in the
garment industry Clothing industry or garment industry summarizes the types of trade and industry along the production and value chain of clothing and garments, starting with the textile industry (producers of cotton, wool, fur, and synthetic fibre), embellishm ...
showed their capability to unify across ethnic boundaries in response to an industry's low wages, unrealistic production demands, and poor working conditions. The strike began on September 22, led by 17-year old Hannah Shapiro, with sixteen women protesting the establishment of a bonus system that demanded high production rates, while also cutting in the
piece rate Piece work or piecework is any type of employment in which a worker is paid a fixed piece rate for each unit produced or action performed, regardless of time. Context When paying a worker, employers can use various methods and combinations of m ...
by ¼ cent. Eventually up to 41,000 workers walked out at the peak of the strike. The strike was initially supported by the
United Garment Workers The United Garment Workers of America (UGW or UGWA) was a United States labor union which existed between 1891 and 1994. It was an affiliate of the American Federation of Labor. History The UGWA was formed in New York in April 1891 and led a ...
( UGW), however the UGW withdrew its support in December over issues of settlement and the strike came to a halt when a deal was agreed upon between the
labor leader A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
Sidney Hillman Sidney Hillman (March 23, 1887 – July 10, 1946) was an American labor leader. He was the head of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and was a key figure in the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations and in marshaling labor ...
(who later married strike leader Bessie Abramovitch) and HSM in January 1911. Although the most militant strikers held out until February 18, the strike succeeded in getting Rate Committee mandated contracts that presented workers with improved wages and conditions.


Background

From 1880 - 1920, there had been a significant amount of labor strikes as the conditions, treatment, and wages of workers did not equal the amount of time and quality of work the average laborer dedicated. The rise of the garment industry in this time period was particular relevant to women, as by the end of the first decade of the 20th century, the garment industry was Chicago's third-largest employer and the single largest employer of women. The 1910 Chicago Garment Workers' Strike was preceded by similar garment labor strikes in different locations, such as the Uprising of the 20,000 in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, and subsequent strikes in
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
and
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. Fair treatment was desired by women as they did an equal amount of work compared to men, yet men oftentimes received a higher pay rate and/or concealed
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.


Strike

The strike began on September 22, 1910, when sixteen women, led by Hannah Shapiro, protested the Hart, Schaffner, Marx firm due to a biased bonus system and a cut in the piece rate. The strike grew rapidly and tremendously by the end of the first week as 2,000 women had joined the effort. The peak of the strikers came when the strike was sanctioned by the UGW with 41,000 workers walking off the job. Even though, the UGW supported the strikers, its support was not sufficient as the UGW did not call a
general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...
but relied upon the workers that did not have contracts and the HSM was able to counter the strikers by providing work to
non-union Nonunion is permanent failure of healing following a broken bone unless intervention (such as surgery) is performed. A fracture with nonunion generally forms a structural resemblance to a fibrous joint, and is therefore often called a "false jo ...
subcontractors A subcontractor is a person or business which undertakes to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract, and a subcontract is a contract which assigns part of an existing contract to a subcontractor. A general contractor, prime ...
. This resulted in the strike losing an edge on the HSM and subsequently the strike began to decline. The UGW backed out of support in December 1910 as the
Chicago Federation of Labor The Chicago Federation of Labor (CFL) is an umbrella organization for Trade union, unions in Chicago, Illinois, US. It is a subordinate body of the AFL–CIO, and as of 2011 has about 320 affiliated member unions representing half a million union ...
and the
Women's Trade Union League The Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) (1903–1950) was a United States, U.S. organization of both working class and more well-off women to support the efforts of women to organize labor unions and to eliminate sweatshop conditions. The WTUL pla ...
(
WTUL WTUL is a progressive/alternative FM radio outlet in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, operating at 91.5 MHz with an ERP of 1,500 watts. The transmitter is located on the campus of Tulane University. The station, which is owne ...
) encouraged that the strikers reach a deal. A deal was reached when the labor leader Sidney Hillman collaborated with the HSM firm. After a bitter, four-month strike, Hillman was instrumental in convincing the HSM to accept most worker demands, including recognition of newly formed Local 39 of the UGW, and an agreement to settle some future disputes by
arbitration Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral (the 'arbitrator', 'arbiter' or 'arbitral tribunal') renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitrati ...
.


Outcome

The strike was partially successful: workers received important support and attention that led to a re-codification of rules that were part of the deal. This deal also led to other codifications in 1913 and 1916. Also, the strike marked the start of what became the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) was a United States labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Congress of Indus ...
and began the careers of strikers Bessie Abramovitz and Sidney Hillman (later to marry) as prominent labor leaders. The strike claimed five lives. The first was striker Charles Lazinskas, killed by a private detective on December 3, and Frank Nagreckis was shot and killed while picketing on the 15th. Then between December 24 and January 3, eighteen-year-old non-union worker John Donnelly was shot to death by three unknown men, bystander Ferninand Weiss was shot and killed by a
private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigat ...
, and a company guard named Fred Reinhart was killed by strikers in an ambush.


References

{{Reflist 1910s strikes in the United States 1910 in Illinois 1910 labor disputes and strikes Textile and clothing labor disputes in the United States 1910s in Chicago History of women's rights in the United States Labor disputes in Illinois 1910 in women's history History of women in Illinois