SILK STOCKINGS AND SOCIALISM: CLASS, COMMUNITY, AND LABOR FEMINISM IN KENSINGTON, PHILADELPHIA, 1919-1940 A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Sharon McConnell Sidorick August, 2010 Examining Committee Members: Kenneth Kusmer, Advisory Chair, History Herbert Ershkowitz, History Susan Klepp, History Rick Halpern, External Member, University of Toronto © by Sharon McConnell Sidorick 2010 All Rights Reserved ii ABSTRACT Between 1919 and the establishment of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), Kensington‘s American Federation of Hosiery Workers (AFHW) built a remarkable movement for social justice in Philadelphia, that played an important role in the establishment of the CIO, the New Deal, and labor-based feminism. Most historical accounts have portrayed the years following World War I through the early 1930s as a period of reversals and apathy for both the labor and women‘s movements. Fractured by factionalism, racial and ethnic conflict, and government repression, it would not be until the Great Depression, and within the ―culture of unity‖ of the CIO and New Deal, that this ―doldrums‖ would be overcome enough to spark a revived labor movement and a ―labor‖ feminism that emerged in the late 1940s and 1950s. The roots of the social movements of the 1930s and beyond are, however, longer and much more complex. In several places, working-class men and women continued to advance throughout the period of perceived ―doldrums.‖ In fact, the 1920s and early 1930s were a period of organizing, education, and network building that laid the groundwork for the later movements. This dissertation uses the AFHW and Kensington as a lens to examine these developments. A left-wing-Socialist-led union, the hosiery workers developed a subculture of radicalism that drew on the long working-class traditions of the textile unions of the community of Kensington. Representing an industry whose very product, silk full-fashioned hosiery, epitomized the ―flapper,‖ the union developed a movement that celebrated--and subverted--the 1920s ―New Woman‖ and the culture of the Jazz Age youth rebellion. Hosiery workers developed a romantic, rights-based movement that promoted class solidarity across differences of age, ethnicity, race, and gender. Over the iii course of a campaign to organize the industry and rebuild labor, the AFHW developed a heroic movement that utilized pathbreaking female-centered imagery and propelled women and the union onto the national consciousness. Their activities put them in the forefront of a movement for social democracy and led in direct ways to the CIO, the New Deal, and labor feminism. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It was through my acquaintance with two remarkable people, Howard and Alice Kreckman, that I first became inspired to write this history. Their stories and commitment to social justice, spanning over seven decades, inspired both this project and my life. I thank them for showing me the possibilities that lay within us. They will forever be mentors and comrades in my heart. The accomplishment of this project required that I obtain extensive training in social history and for this I would like to thank my committee members at Temple University. First among these is my graduate advisor, Kenneth Kusmer. He not only introduced me to twentieth-century American social history and gave me the benefit of his vast knowledge, but also stood by me at a crucial time for the completion of this project. I could not have completed it without him, and for his support, I am grateful. To other members of the Temple community and especially my doctoral committee, I also owe a great debt of gratitude. Herbert Ershkowitz shared with me the exhaustive depth and breadth of his knowledge of American social history, and his scholarship gave me many insights. Susan Klepp shared her thoughts on all areas of my dissertation, but especially her comprehensive knowledge of gender history, and influenced the evolution of my thoughts in this very important area of my work. I thank them both for their comments that helped me improve this project, and for ―going the distance‖ with me. Scholars in other fields outside of American history helped me to understand how other historians think about some of the questions I tried to address. These included Mary Procida, a historian of British social history and empire, until her untimely death at much too young an age. She was a wonderful teacher and scholar. I want to especially thank v Kathy Walker for being on my examination committee, supporting me, and giving me the benefit of her theoretical insights. Scholars beyond Temple also had a profound influence upon my work. I wish to thank Lynn Lees, at the University of Pennsylvania, for taking over for Mary Procida. She helped to get me through. Very special thanks are extended to Rick Halpern of the University of Toronto, Scarborough, for agreeing to be my outside reader, and for his insightful suggestions that have pushed me in new directions as I continue to develop this work. I am sincerely appreciative for his support and the benefit of his expertise. None of my work would have been possible without the help of the librarians and archivists from the various institutions that I visited. To these professionals at the Wisconsin Historical Society, the University of Pennsylvania Archives, Temple University Urban Archives, and the Walter Reuther Archives at Wayne State University, I extend my sincere thanks. The secretaries in the Department of History at Temple, Patricia Williams, a fellow Kensingtonian, and Vangeline Campbell, will forever have my gratitude for their expert support work and consistent encouragement during this project. Other scholars also played a crucial role in my thinking and therefore the evolution of this project. Foremost among them is Bernard Wailes, my undergraduate advisor and mentor at the University of Pennsylvania‘s Department of Anthropology. His scholarship, and the countless hours he spent with me discussing critical elements of the development of societies, not only helped my studies at Penn, but also shaped my scholarship in more ways than I can possibly express. Thank you. To Elin Danien, scholar and founder of the Bread Upon The Waters Scholarship Fund, I owe a deep debt of gratitude. The scholarship not only allowed me to attend Penn, but her own achievements, her profound love for education, and her unflagging support and friendship, were, and continue to be, a true inspiration for me. May the bread come back to you. vi Finally, I am deeply grateful for my family. For my daughter, Brianna, who consistently told me that I was a ―good‖ writer and capable of producing a coherent piece of work, and for Michael, Lisa, and Dante. Foremost among all, I thank my husband, and comrade in life, Dan. A fellow historian, he was my strongest supporter and critic. He spent many, many, hours discussing my findings and editing my commas, and never let on that he was probably heartily sick of hearing about hosiery workers! His insights were an important catalyst to my own thoughts. Je t‘aime. And to the people of Kensington, past and present, this is for you. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................v LIST OF CHARTS ............................................................................................................ ix LIST OF TABLES ...............................................................................................................x LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ xii CHAPTER 1. A COMMUNITY OF LABOR ................................................................................1 2. THE STRIKES FOR SURVIVAL, 1919 –1922....................................................63 3. JAZZ-AGE UNIONISM, 1922-1927 ....................................................................95 4. WORKING-CLASS FEMINISM, 1926-1929 ....................................................181 5. FIGHTING THE DEPRESSION, KENSINGTON STYLE, 1929-1934 ............241 6. STORMING THE BASTILLE, 1933-1937 .........................................................314 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................388 APPENDICES A. JOB DESCRIPTIONS .........................................................................................408 B. FIGURES .............................................................................................................418 viii ix LIST OF CHARTS Chart Page 1. Total Union Membership (United States) .................................................................xv 2. American Federation of Hosiery Workers Union Members (Philadelphia) ......... xviii x LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Racial Percentages of Philadelphia Wards by Geographic Area, 1930 ....................33 2. Percentage of Whites of Native, Mixed and Foreign Parentage and Foreign-Born Whites, 1930................................................................................58 3. Kensington Household Annual Budget, 1920 ..........................................................71