Richard A. Greenwald
Historian Richard A. Greenwald Describes How Factory Owners Organized (Modified)
Background: Just two days into the “Uprising of the 20,000,” many small factories agreed to union demands. About 70 large factories, however, refused to accept the union or make changes to their rules for workers. The following is a modified excerpt from a secondary source describing how these larger factory owners responded.
Rather than go it alone or attempt to negotiate with the union, the owners of the Triangle, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, circulated a letter in early November to all shirtwaist manufacturers suggesting the formation of an Employers Mutual Protective Association “in order to prevent this irresponsible union in gain[ing] the upper hand…[and] dictating to us the manner of conducting our business.” […]
Following Triangle’s call, the new Association of Waist and Dress Manufacturers … met…The organization further called for all manufacturers who had already signed contracts [with unions] to openly break them and lockout their workers. […]
Larger shops, such as the Triangle, were able to fight the union effectively by:
- Moving production to factories outside of New York
- Subcontracting work to smaller shops that had already settled with the union
- Having enough resources to wait out the strikers [who desperately needed their jobs and wages back]
lockout: When factory owners would literally lock the doors of a factory and not allow workers to come to work.
subcontract: When a large company pays a smaller company or an individual to do work that is part of a larger project.
Source: Greenwald, Richard A. The Triangle Fire, the Protocols of Peace, and Industrial Democracy in Progressive Era New York. pp. 33–34. Some language has been modified from the original version to be more accessible to lower–level readers.
Discussion Questions about How Factory Owners Organized
- How did the factory owners respond to the striking workers?
- What did the factory owners mean when they said they were forming an association “to prevent this irresponsible union [from] dictating to us the manner of conducting our business?”
- How do you think the factory owners felt about the workers who were organizing the strikes in their factories?
- Do you think the factory owners’ responses were effective? Why or why not?
