Philadelphia General Strike of 1910
Philadelphia General Strike of 1910 was a major labor action that began as a strike by transit workers and expanded to include tens of thousands of workers across multiple industries. The strike, which lasted from late February through early April, represented the largest labor conflict in Philadelphia's history to that point and demonstrated the strength of organized labor in the city's industrial economy. Workers on the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT) walked out over union recognition and working conditions, and their strike quickly drew support from textile workers, garment workers, and other trades in a show of labor solidarity. The strike ultimately failed to win its primary demands, but it revealed the depth of working-class discontent in industrial Philadelphia and contributed to the national debate over labor rights that characterized the Progressive Era.[1]
Origins of the Strike
[edit | edit source]The Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company, formed in 1902 through consolidation of the city's streetcar lines, had developed a reputation for poor labor relations. Workers faced long hours, arbitrary discipline, and wages that had not kept pace with the rising cost of living. The company refused to recognize unions, maintained a network of company spies to identify organizers, and fired workers suspected of union sympathies. The Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees had organized PRT workers before, but the company had successfully broken earlier organizing efforts. By early 1910, worker grievances had accumulated to the point where conflict seemed inevitable.[2]
The immediate trigger for the strike was the company's discharge of 173 workers who had joined the union. The Amalgamated Association called a strike on February 19, 1910, demanding reinstatement of the discharged workers, recognition of the union, and improvements in wages and conditions. The strike was nearly complete—over 5,000 workers walked out, bringing the city's streetcar system to a halt. Philadelphia depended on streetcars for daily transportation; their sudden absence disrupted commerce, factory operations, and daily life throughout the city. The strike's impact was immediate and visible, forcing the city to confront the transit workers' demands.[1]
Sympathy Strikes and Solidarity
[edit | edit source]What transformed the transit strike into a general strike was the decision of workers in other industries to walk out in solidarity. On March 5, textile workers in the Kensington mills—tens of thousands of them—joined the strike. Garment workers, cigar makers, and workers in other trades followed. At its peak, the strike may have involved over 100,000 workers across Philadelphia's industrial economy, though precise numbers are difficult to establish. The sympathy strikes demonstrated a level of working-class solidarity that alarmed employers and encouraged labor organizers. If workers in different industries would support each other's struggles, the balance of power between labor and capital might fundamentally shift.[2]
The solidarity was not unlimited, however. Some unions declined to join the sympathy strike, either because their leaders opposed the action or because their members were unwilling to sacrifice wages for another union's fight. The American Federation of Labor, the dominant national union federation, provided rhetorical support but limited practical assistance. The sympathy strikes were also uneven in their effectiveness—some factories shut down completely, while others continued to operate with reduced workforces. The general strike revealed both the potential and the limits of labor solidarity in a city where workers were divided by skill, ethnicity, and competing union loyalties.[1]
Violence and Repression
[edit | edit source]The strike was marked by violence as strikers clashed with strikebreakers and police. The PRT imported strikebreakers from outside the city and attempted to run cars with replacement workers, leading to confrontations along streetcar routes. Crowds attacked streetcars, beat strikebreakers, and battled with police assigned to protect company property. Several people were killed and hundreds injured during the course of the strike. City authorities responded with mass arrests and deployment of additional police, while the state militia was placed on alert though not actually deployed. The violence damaged public sympathy for the strikers and gave the company and its political allies justification for treating the strike as a public order problem rather than a labor dispute.[2]
The Republican machine that controlled Philadelphia sided firmly with the company. Mayor John Reyburn and Director of Public Safety Henry Clay refused to negotiate with strike leaders and used police to protect strikebreaking operations. The machine's newspapers portrayed strikers as violent radicals threatening public order. Business leaders organized the Committee of Ten to oppose the strike and support the company. The alignment of political and economic power against the strikers made victory difficult even before the sympathy strikes exhausted themselves. The strike demonstrated how thoroughly the machine served business interests against working-class demands.[3]
End and Aftermath
[edit | edit source]The strike collapsed in early April as sympathy strikes faded and financial pressures mounted on workers who had been without wages for weeks. The PRT resumed full operations with a combination of workers who had never joined the strike, strikers who returned to work, and new hires. The company refused to reinstate identified strike leaders and continued to resist union recognition. The strike's immediate demands were not achieved, and the defeat weakened labor organization on the transit system for years afterward. Workers who had sacrificed wages and risked their jobs had little to show for their efforts.[1]
Yet the 1910 strike was not without consequences. The scale of the conflict and the violence it produced prompted some reform efforts. Progressive reformers used the strike to argue for improved labor relations and regulation of transit companies. The strike contributed to a broader national debate over labor rights that would eventually produce reforms including the Clayton Act of 1914, which limited the use of injunctions against strikes. In Philadelphia specifically, the memory of 1910 influenced later labor struggles and contributed to the gradual strengthening of union organization in the city's industries. The general strike demonstrated that Philadelphia's working class, though defeated, was capable of collective action on a massive scale.[3]
See Also
[edit | edit source]- Industrial Revolution in Philadelphia
- General Strike of 1835
- Political Machine Era
- Immigration Wave (1870-1920)