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Heritage of Struggle. a History of American Working People. INSTITUTION Tannsylvania State Univ., University Park Dept

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Heritage of Struggle. a History of American Working People. INSTITUTION Tannsylvania State Univ., University Park Dept DOCUMENT RESUME ED 290 018 CE 049 382 AUTHOR Harris, Howard TITLE Heritage of Struggle. A History of American Working People. INSTITUTION tannsylvania State Univ., University Park Dept. of Labor Studies. PUB DATE 85 NOTE 54p.; Sponsored by Local 3, Philadelphia Federation of Teaches and the Pennsylvania Labor History Society. PUB TYPE Historical Materials (060) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Anglo Americans; Blacks; Chinese Americans; *Equal Opportunities (Jobs); Ethnic Bias; Ethnic Discrimination; *Ethnic Groups; Ethnic Relations; Hispanic Americans; Italian Americans; Jews; *Labor Conditions; Labor Force Development; Labor Legislation; Labor Problems; *Labor Relations; *Minority Groups; Puerto Ricans; Racial Bias; Racial Discrimination; Racial Relations; Social History; *Unions; United States History IDENTIFIERS Irish Americans; Scandinavians; *United States ABSTRACT The materials in this pamphlet describe the difficulties encouttered by various racial and ethnic groups as they attempted to become assimilated into the Americln labor force. The experiences 'nd problems faced by blacks, Jews, and immigrants from England, Ireland, the Scandinavian countries, China, Italy, and Puerto Rico are described in an attempt to correct man, of the racial and ethnic stereotypes that American workers have about one another. The contributions that each of these ethnic and racial groups made to the U.S. labor movement are stressed. The following are among the topics covered: religious differences among immigrants from England, West African society, blacks ac indentured servants and slaves, competition between blacks and white immigrant workers, the Jim Crow laws, the role of blacks in ths Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), problems experienced by railroad workers and miners, anti-Chinese sentiments and riots, the Chinese Exclusion Act, the reasons behind the Jewish immigration to the United States, the padrone system and the problems it caused Italian immigrants, strikes and strikebreakers, the negative impact of U.S. rule on the Puerto Rican labor market, and problems encot' .ored by Puerto Ricans in the United States. All of the materials originally appeared as a series of articles in the community newspaper "The Link," which is published by the United Community Centers of Brooklyn, New York. A 5-page list of significant dates in the U.S. labor movement and a list of labor history resources (print and film) conclude the pamphlet. (MN) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the bes that can be made from the original docume' kfti'********************ft********************************************** Heritage of Struggle A History of American Working People U II DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Ofbc of Educational Rosetuch au,:. improvement ED CARONA'. RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproducedas received from the person ororganization originating it. 0 Minor changes have beenmade to improve reproduction quality Points of new or opinions stated in thisdocw mint do not necsanly representofficial OERI position or poMy "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL AS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERtC)" Huwwd Harris Department of Labor Studies The Pennsylvania State University 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Heritage of Struggle A History of American Working People Howard Harris Department of Labor Studies The Pennsylvania State University 4,_,,rit,01-C . 3 Acknowledgements Much of the credit for this pamphlet goes to the volunteers and staff of the United Community Centers who have played a major role in shaping my perspective on the history of working people Special thanks goes to Lois Nowicki who thst suggested that the individual articles be turned into a single work Her assistance in the preparation of the ongina! manuscnpt and her constant interest in the project contnbuted, in no small measure, to its eventual conclusion The author wishes to thank Local ::,, The Philadelphia Federation of Teach- ers and The Pennsylvania Labor History Society whose financial support helped make the publication of this pamphlet possible Photographs and graphics were contributed by the Histoncal Collections and Labor Archives of Pattee Library, The Pennsylvania State University, and by Alice Hoff:nan, Associate Professor of Labor Studies, and the National AFL-CIO Copynght 1985 by The Department of Labor Studies The Pennsylvania State University All nghts reserved 4 11 Contents Introduction 1 English 3 Blacks 7 Irish 15 Scandinavians 19 Chinese 23 Jews 27 Italians 31 Puerto Ricans 35 Conclusion 39 Timeline 40 Bibliography 45 Films 47 0M iii Introduction The material in this pamphlet originally appeared as a series of artic'es in the community newspaper. The Link, published by the United Community Cen- ters of Brooklyn, New York It aimed at correcting many of the racial andethnic stereotypes that working peoph have about one another Uponcompletion of the series, it became clear that the story that it told had meaning for workers in all parts of the country, not just New York City The experiences descnbed in the following pages are representative of the history of all people who came to this country with rough hands and strong backs, determined to make a decent life for themselves and their families Whether they travelled to America of their own free will or whether they came involuntanly asslaves or bond-servants he new world represented a land of almostunlimited opportunity in the minds of most newcomers The reality of life in the United States did not, however, correspond to their dreams Instead of milk and honey they found low wages. cruel overseers, farm foreclosures, overcrowded tenement distncts, hunger and unemployment Slays and Poles in the Pittsburgh steel mills found twelve-hcr ir workdays and twenty-four hour weekend shifts Filipinos and Japanese laboring in Ca:ifornia orchards experienced racial discnmination and violence German and Austrian brewery workers in Saint Louis and Milwaukee confronted policemen's clubs and guns Blacks searching for economic opportunities in the North ran into race nots and lynchings While individuals from every group climbed the ladder of economic and social success, most people remained locked in the struggle for daily survival Those denied access to the "American Dream" turned to collective action to combat injustice They combined traditions of protest brought with them from the old country with the democratic, republican heritage of their new home- land Utilizing relationships loaned trough networks of local churches, frat- ernal organizations and benefit societies t'iey confronted employers and hostile government officials, demanding their rights as they perceived them tobe defined in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence The labor movement represented a natural vehicle for their protests In some cases trade unions and other labor organizationswelcomed immigrants and minonties with open arms In other situations a fear of losing control over scarce jobs or a continued belief in long held stereotypesled organized workers 1 6 to turn their backs on their fellow wage earners This rejection contnbutedto the formation of local unions organized onan ethnic or racial basis Over time increasing numbers of immigrants and minonty group members joined the labor movement which, in turn becamea major force in breaking down many of the bamers and prejudices in Amencansociety The tremendous diversity of the American working class hasbeen both its weakness and its strength In hard times employers manipulateone group against another, using racial or ethnic antagonisms to keep the workforce dividedIf Chinese workers went on strike in California. commercialfarmers brought in Blacks to scab When native-born or English coalminers protested wage cuts, Pennsylvania mine operators hired trainloads of recently arrived Italians to replace the stnkers In order to combat thegrowing militancy of Japanese plantation hands in Hawaii, growers importedPuerto Rican ag- ncultural workers into the Pacific Islands Competition for scarce jobs often led to workers fightingamong themselves Fearful of losing their Jobs due to the lack of steady employmentin their industry. Insh construction workers refused to admit Jewish craftsmeninto their unions Unemployed workers in the California gold fields attacked and burned Chinese communities dunng a nation-wide depression SkilledEnglish and German ironworkers refused to support unskilled Hunganans andSlovaks in their efforts to obtain better conditionsin the steel mills anci iron furnaces of western Pennsylvania Workingmen and the sons of workingmen servedin thr state militias and local police which shot down unarmed stnkersin numerous towns and cities For every negative occurrence however, thereare examples of workers from diverse backgrounds joining togetherin common cause Blacks and 1-ish conducted a general strike in New Orleansin 1892 even when the Catholic church opposed the walkout Striking Norwegians. Swedes,Italians and Slays held an ill-fated Christmas party in Calumet, Michiganin 1913 Native-born, white sharecroppers and black sharecroppers broke longestablished Southern racial taboos by working together in the Populist Partyin the late 1890's. Chinese and Hispanic factory operatives conducteda mass stnke against employers in New York's garment distnctin 1982 in order to obtain a decent contract All of the incidents mentioned above, both thepositive and
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