Title of Presentation/Proposal/Etc.
“Unionism in Defeat: The 1922 Railroad Shopmen”
Start Date
25-2-2021 8:00 AM
Presentation Type
Faculty Presentation
Abstract
The 1922 national railroad shopmen’s strike shook railroad hubs across the Lone Star State. My chief interest in this conflict is the belief systems of the workers involved and the racial and gendered dimensions of their stories. I have a large collection of photographed materials from the Kheel Center and the National Archives. These images include correspondence between local white union lodges, black labor organizations, the national leadership of railroad brotherhoods, and the United States Railroad Labor Board. These communications detail the impact of the federal injunction that broke the strike, the economic and social dislocation wrought by the walkout’s defeat, and the legal woes that some strikers experienced due to their alleged participation in unlawful and violent pro-strike actions. My paper will draw on these materials, in addition to local and state records. Its central concern will be the meaning of the defeat for Texas railroad shop workers.
Location
Virtual
“Unionism in Defeat: The 1922 Railroad Shopmen”
Virtual
The 1922 national railroad shopmen’s strike shook railroad hubs across the Lone Star State. My chief interest in this conflict is the belief systems of the workers involved and the racial and gendered dimensions of their stories. I have a large collection of photographed materials from the Kheel Center and the National Archives. These images include correspondence between local white union lodges, black labor organizations, the national leadership of railroad brotherhoods, and the United States Railroad Labor Board. These communications detail the impact of the federal injunction that broke the strike, the economic and social dislocation wrought by the walkout’s defeat, and the legal woes that some strikers experienced due to their alleged participation in unlawful and violent pro-strike actions. My paper will draw on these materials, in addition to local and state records. Its central concern will be the meaning of the defeat for Texas railroad shop workers.