The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fogler Library 2003 Local 21's Quest for a Moral Economy: Peabody, Massachusetts and its Leather Workers, 1933-1973 Lynne Nelson Manion Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd Part of the Industrial Organization Commons, Labor Economics Commons, and the Social History Commons Recommended Citation Manion, Lynne Nelson, "Local 21's Quest for a Moral Economy: Peabody, Massachusetts nda its Leather Workers, 1933-1973" (2003). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 186. http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/186 This Open-Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. LOCAL 21's QUEST FOR A MORAL ECONOMY: PEABODY, MASSACHUSETTS AND ITS LEATHER WORKERS, 1933-1973 BY Lynne Nelson Manion B.A. Syracuse University, 1988 M.A. University of Maine, 1995 A THESIS Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (in History) The Graduate School The University of Maine May, 2003 Advisory Committee: Nathan Godfiied, Professor of History, Co-Advisor Marli F. Weiner, Professor of History, Co-Advisor William Baker, Professor of History Elizabeth McKillen, Associate Professor of History Paula Petrik, Professor of History, George Mason University LOCAL 21's QUEST FOR A MORAL ECONOMY: PEABODY, MASSACHUSETTS AND ITS LEATHER WORKERS, 1933-1973 By Lynne Nelson Manion Thesis Co-Advisors: Dr. Nathan Godfried and Dr. Marli F. Weiner An Abstract of the Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (in History) May, 2003 The industrial working class began the middle decades of the twentieth century with unlimited hope and possibility but ended them fraught with disillusionment and dismay. This marked a disjointed experience as optimism for the future gave way to disenchantment. With the ratification of the National Industrial Recovery Act in 1933 and the National Labor Relations Act in 1935, hundreds of thousands of workers across the United States became union members. The euphoria that this initial burst of unionization created, however, could not be sustained throughout the post-World War II years. The Cold War, McCarthyism and later the onset of de-industrialization ushered in new phases in working class history marked by the gradual ineffectiveness of the working class to shape domestic policy. In order to provide better insight on the potential, achievements, and disappointments of the industrial working class in the twentieth century, this study examines a community-based leather worker's union-Local21-in the small New England city of Peabody, Massachusetts, from 1933 to 1973. Eighteen miles northeast of Boston, Peabody was considered the leather capital of the world in 1919 when it employed 8,600 people in 106 tanneries and produced more leather in a year than anywhere else in the world. Because of their importance in the early and mid- twentieth century, Peabody and its leather workers offer an insightful case study for understanding the working class during a transformative period. Growing out of community unrest during the New Deal era, Local 2 1 persevered through the darkest days of the national union movement after World War I1 and remained a community- based union intent on creating a more democratic culture-a culture based on a moral economy stressing the needs of the working class individual over corporate profits. Even though the union's gains did not totally alter the social and industrial landscape of Peabody, for a brief time Peabody leather workers gained a measure of power that allowed them to have a voice in reshaping their workplace and community. DEDICATION To Bradie and Dacie: Though I study the past, you are the future. In Memory of Pauline Comora and Eleanor Ryder: Two women who inspired my sense of curiosity. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Every endeavor in life requires the input and help of others. This work was no exception. Many people offered assistance throughout the research and writing process. Dr. Marli F. Weiner provided encouragement and advice early on when I was debating whether I should pursue a Ph.D. in history. Her support at the outset never wavered throughout the next six years. The attention she gave my dissertation in the final months helped me strengthen my arguments, solidify my thinking, and hone my writing. Dr. Nathan Godfried in his role as graduate coordinator and later as co-chair of my dissertation committee exceeded the job requirements for both of these positions. His dedication and commitment to helping me become a better scholar was instrumental in my finishing this project and my degree. His love of history and desire to promote the interests of the working class inspired my thinking and served as a role model for my work. Dr. Paula Petrik, Dr. William Baker, and Dr. Elizabeth McKillen offered assistance throughout this project. Dr. Petrik instilled in me the necessity of telling a story and making sure the thesis was clearly visible. This advice guided every page of the dissertation. Her belief in my abilities as a historian provided solace at various low points of my graduate career. Dr. William Baker never failed to make me smile whenever things became too stressful. His advice has informed many of the decisions I have made. Prior to joining my committee, Dr. Elizabeth McKillen read earlier drafts of my dissertation and prospectus. The attention she gave to my work was significant. The comments she made on the earlier drafts were helpful and insightful. Her scholarship provided a model to strive for and measure against. Travel support from the University of Maine's Charles J. Dunn Dissertation Research Grant aided the research process. Without the monetary assistance from this grant, I would not have been able to travel throughout the northeast doing research. A research stipend from the University of Maine allowed me to spend one year focused on writing. I am grateful to Bob Quinn, of Picture Business Productions, for providing transcripts from a documentary he did on the leather industry in Peabody, Massachusetts. These transcripts were instrumental in helping me understand the con~munityof Peabody and its leather workers. On a personal level, my parents, Donald and Dorothy Nelson, have offered encouragement, support, and child-care from the beginning of my graduate career. Their willingness to put their own lives on hold and travel eight hours every few months to help me meet the continuing array of deadlines has been incredible. If my mother had not watched my children off and on for the last six years, I would not have been able to finish this work. Her ability to keep my house clean, laundry washed, and refrigerator stocked also provided me with extra time to research and write. My daughters, Bradie and Dacie, collectively and individually have aided this project. Bradie literally has been with me every step of the way in my graduate career. I was pregnant with her when I took my first graduate class as a Master's student, and she has never known a time when her mother was not reading, researching, and writing. As I completed this dissertation, she completed her first large research project-a six-grade, three-month science project. Together we met our deadlines and offered each other support. At times when I wanted to quit, Bradie gave advice and words of wisdom far beyond her eleven years. Dacie was born as I was finishing my Master's degree. She has probably spent more time at Fogler Library than many undergraduates. Dacie's ability to remind me that life exists outside of class assignments and dissertation deadlines has kept me fi-om missing out on the really important things in life: basketball games, flag-football, skiing, walking the dog, and cuddling with a little girl. And lastly, thanks to Will for making this journey exciting and keeping me motivated. TABLE OF CONTENTS .. DEDICATION ..............................................................................................................11 ... ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...........................................................................................111 INTRODUCTION: Peabody and Its Leather History ..................................................1 CHAPTER ONE: The Birth of a Union: The NLWA Rises from the Chaos .............22 CHAPTER TWO: Strength and Unity: The Early Days of Local 2 1 .........................73 CHAPTER THREE: Social Equality: A Community of Workers Creates Change .......................................................................................................... -123 CHAPTER FOUR:. The. Repression. of the Postwar Years: Local 2 1's Fight to Retain Solidmty Unionism.......................................................................... 183 CHAPTER FIVE: Epilogue: A Community Responds to a Dying Industry ............232 REFERENCES .........................................................................................................-248 BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR ............................................................................265 INTRODUCTION: Peabody and Its Leather History The history of the working class is the history of people, their problems and their choices, their potential to change social relations, as well as their powerlessness to bring about change. Learning from them does not mean sanctifying