Great Railroad Strike of 1922
Encyclopedia
The Great Railroad Strike of 1922 was a nationwide railroad shop workers strike
in the United States
. The action began on July 1 and was the largest railroad work stoppage since 1894.
on July 1, which prompted a shop workers vote on whether or not to strike. The operators' unions, representing the engineers, trainmen, firemen, and conductors, did not join in the strike. The railroads employed strikebreaker
s to fill three-fourths of the roughly 400,000 vacated positions, increasing hostilities between the railroads and the striking workers. By the end of July, US National Guard troops were on duty in seven states and some 2,200 deputy U.S. marshals were actively clamping down on meetings and pickets.
President
Warren G. Harding
proposed a settlement on July 28 which would have granted little to the labor unions, but the railroad companies rejected the compromise despite interest from the desperate workers. Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty
, who opposed the unions, pushed for national action against the strike, and on September 1 a federal judge named James H. Wilkerson issued a sweeping injunction against striking, assembling, picketing, and a variety of other union activities, colloquially known as the "Daugherty Injunction."
There was widespread opposition to the injunction and a number of sympathy strike
s shut down some railroads completely, but the strike eventually died out as many shopmen made deals with the railroads on the local level. The often unpalatable concessions — coupled with memories of the violence and tension during the strike — soured relations between the railroads and the shopmen for quite some time.
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , 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 important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The action began on July 1 and was the largest railroad work stoppage since 1894.
History
The immediate cause of the strike was the Railroad Labor Board's announcement that hourly wages would be cut by seven centsCent (currency)
In many national currencies, the cent is a monetary unit that equals 1⁄100 of the basic monetary unit. Etymologically, the word cent derives from the Latin word "centum" meaning hundred. Cent also refers to a coin which is worth one cent....
on July 1, which prompted a shop workers vote on whether or not to strike. The operators' unions, representing the engineers, trainmen, firemen, and conductors, did not join in the strike. The railroads employed strikebreaker
Strikebreaker
A strikebreaker is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who are not employed by the company prior to the trade union dispute, but rather hired prior to or during the strike to keep the organisation running...
s to fill three-fourths of the roughly 400,000 vacated positions, increasing hostilities between the railroads and the striking workers. By the end of July, US National Guard troops were on duty in seven states and some 2,200 deputy U.S. marshals were actively clamping down on meetings and pickets.
President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
proposed a settlement on July 28 which would have granted little to the labor unions, but the railroad companies rejected the compromise despite interest from the desperate workers. Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty
Harry M. Daugherty
Harry Micajah Daugherty was an American politician. He is best known as a Republican Party boss, and member of the Ohio Gang, the name given to the group of advisors surrounding president Warren G...
, who opposed the unions, pushed for national action against the strike, and on September 1 a federal judge named James H. Wilkerson issued a sweeping injunction against striking, assembling, picketing, and a variety of other union activities, colloquially known as the "Daugherty Injunction."
There was widespread opposition to the injunction and a number of sympathy strike
Sympathy strike
Secondary action is industrial action by a trade union in support of a strike initiated by workers in another, separate enterprise...
s shut down some railroads completely, but the strike eventually died out as many shopmen made deals with the railroads on the local level. The often unpalatable concessions — coupled with memories of the violence and tension during the strike — soured relations between the railroads and the shopmen for quite some time.
Further reading
- Colin J. Davis, Power at Odds: The 1922 National Railroad Shopmen's Strike. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1997.