labor relations, 1910

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Here's an early piece of photo journalism. Ninety-eight years ago, on Nov 2, 1910, the young Teamsters' Union called out the express drivers in New York and Jersey City. The New York Times provided full coverage in print and the Bains News Service provided these graphic images.

The photo above shows two policemen arresting a striker on the streets of New York. It comes, as do all the shots below, from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. The strike brought virtually all delivery to a halt, a huge blow to the two cities. The strikers' complaint was long hours for low wages. Reportedly they worked 17-hour days for wages of $5 to $10 a week. New York had a reform mayor at the time, who refused to take sides himself and who ordered the city's police to remain neutral as well. When the express company owners tried to use strike breakers, the mayor declared that they had not obtained necessary permission and ordered them to stop. The strike was settled on Nov. 11. The union did obtain shorter hours and higher wages but failed to get explicit recognition or any degree of job security from the owners and further strikes ensued in coming years. Melvyn Dubofsky gives a summary of these events in his book When workers organize; New York City in the Progressive era.

These further photos from the event contain their own brief captions. If you've time, look at some of the interesting details they contain. I've put a few crops at bottom to show what caught my eye.

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Here are links to articles in the New York Times:

Wagon Drivers May Be Called Out (pdf), Nov. 2, 1910.

Express Strik Officially Ended (pdf), Nov. 13, 1910.

Details from three of the photos:

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