1917 Bloomington Streetcar Strike
Bloomington Streetcar Strike of 1917 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Part of streetcar strikes in the United States | |||
Illinois National Guard troops surrounding the Bloomington’s courthouse square | |||
Date | May 28 – July 9, 1917 (107 years ago) | ||
Location | Bloomington, Illinois | ||
Resulted in | Daily pay increased by 35¢[1] Workday decreased from 9:20[1] to 9:00 hours[2] Union Recognition Wrongful termination protections[1] | ||
Parties | |||
| |||
Lead figures | |||
Mother Jones US Rep. & owner of B&N: William B. McKinley | |||
Number | |||
| |||
Original pay before the strike was $2.25/day, for a nine-and-a-half-hour workday[2][1] |
- v
- t
- e
- St. Louis 1900
- Indianapolis 1892
- Los Angeles 1903
- San Francisco 1907
- Pensacola 1908
- Columbus 1910
- Philadelphia 1910
- Indianapolis 1913
- St. John 1914
- Atlanta 1916
- Portland, ME 1916
- Bloomington, IL 1917
- Twin Cities 1917
- Los Angeles 1919
- New Orleans 1920
- Denver 1920
- New Orleans 1929
- 1930s–1970s
- Century Airlines 1932
- Philadelphia 1944
- New York City 1949
- Atlanta 1950
- New York City 1966
- 1980s–2020s
- Greyhound 1983
- New York City 2005
- Toronto 2006
- Toronto 2008
- Lyft and Uber 2019
The 1917 Bloomington Streetcar Strike was a labor dispute starting on May 28, 1917[4][2][5][α] when ATU Local 752 called a strike for union recognition, increased pay, and a shortened workday.
Facing a strike, Bloomington & Normal Street Railway & Light offered a 20¢ a day increase before the strike but refused to give union recognition,[2] so the union struck. A month into the strike Mother Jones rallied for the cause.
It ended in July when the mayor of Bloomington, E.E. Jones, mediated contract talks between the workers and company from July 6 to 9. During this, Illinois National Guard had been stationed outside the courthouse where mediation was occurring and B&N’s power plant, equipped with machine gun emplacements.[2]
An agreement was reached on July 9, 1917 in a victory for the union, winning recognition, reduced hours, and increased pay.[2][4][1]
See also
Further reading
- The Daily Pantagraph, 1917 Streetcar Strike Articles Collection
- Sasic, Eme. Bloomington to celebrate centennial of street car strike. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
- Raye, Janet (August 19, 2017). Bloomington IL Street Car Strike of 1917. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
- Sobota, Lenore (July 2, 2017). A walk through time: Bloomington's 1917 streetcar strike. pantagraph.com. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
References
- ^ a b c d e Unknown (1917-07-10), "English: TEXT AGREEMENT WHICH SETTLES STREET RAILWAY STRIKE", The Pantagraph, retrieved 2023-04-09
- ^ a b c d e f g "Bloomington 1917 Strike". Mother Jones Museum. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
- ^ Unknown (July 7, 1917), "English: The Bloomington Strike-", Chicago Tribune, retrieved 2023-04-10
- ^ a b c "A Community in Conflict: 1917". McLean County Museum of History.
- ^ a b Unknown (May 29, 1917), "Call Strike on Street Car Lines", The Pantagraph, p. 3, retrieved 2023-04-10
- ^ "The Founding of ATU Local 752". atulocal752.org. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
Notes
- ^ Sources conflict on the starting date of the strike. ATU Local 752[6] mistakenly states April 28, 1917 for its history. While the Mother Jones museum[2] & McLean County Museum[4] state March 28, 1917 which aligns with all the primary sources.[5]
This article related to a strike action or other labor dispute is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e