{"id":2657,"date":"2023-02-22T15:13:44","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T20:13:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=2657"},"modified":"2023-03-10T10:24:59","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T15:24:59","slug":"bread-and-roses-strike-highlighting-child-labor-workplace-safety-unequal-distribution-of-wealth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-41-no-2\/bread-and-roses-strike-highlighting-child-labor-workplace-safety-unequal-distribution-of-wealth\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Bread and Roses\u2019 strike: Highlighting child labor, workplace safety, unequal distribution of wealth"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo
Photo shows the Lawrence textile strike of 1912, also known as the “Bread and Roses” strike. (Source: Flickr Commons project, 2009)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

March 10, 2023 —<\/em> In 1912, textile workers worked long hours for dismal wages. At the American Woolen Company mill in Lawrence, Mass., more than half the workers were women and girls between the ages of 14 and 18.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Massachusetts law made the situation worse by reducing the number of hours women and children could work from 56 to 54 \u2013 the resulting pay cut, several loaves of bread worth, led to thousands walking out of the mills.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By the end of that week, more than 20,000 joined picket lines.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Bread and Roses Strike was born.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During the strike, marchers raised signs of \u201cWe want bread, but we want roses, too!\u201d and after 100 years, that rally call still resonates as workers continue to fight for workplace safety and against the unequal distribution of wealth and income in this country.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Bread and Roses strike saw dozens of immigrant communities unite under the leadership of the Industrial Workers of the World. Strikers are credited with the advent of the moving picket line \u2013 allowing them to avoid arrests for loitering.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite that, things did get ugly.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As strikers organized large marches, disrupted businesses by entering stores and not purchasing anything, and even sent hundreds of children to live with supporters in other cities, the state\u2019s militia broke up actions and pulled out all the stops to combat the strike.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"1912
Strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, with many children posed on sidewalk. (Photo source: loc.gov)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Things came to a highly public tipping point when a group of strikers accompanied children to a train station, intending to send them outside Lawrence, and were confronted by police.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPolice surrounded and brutally clubbed women and children alike, then threw them into patrol wagons,\u201d an article from <\/span>LaborRights.org<\/span><\/a> stated. \u201cThe press reported on the ugly scene, and people all around the country were outraged. A congressional investigation began.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

American Woolen caved and settled.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On March 12, 1912, workers won a 15% pay raise, double overtime pay, and a promise of no discrimination against strikers. They struck a blow against child labor and the strike is considered an important step in organized labor\u2019s struggle to gain a foothold in this country.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Where did the phrase \u201cbread and roses\u201d come from?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many say it was based on a 1911 poem by James Oppenheim. Click <\/span>here<\/span><\/a> for the full text of the poem.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

March 10, 2023 — In 1912, textile workers worked long hours for dismal wages. 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