On this day in Labor History the year was 1867.
That was the day that shoemakers founded the labor union the Knights of St. Crispin, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
St. Crispin is the patron saint of cobblers. In the third century AD Crispin and his brother traveled what would become France, preaching the gospel.
They paid their way by cobbling shoes.
They were martyred for their faith and were venerated as saints by the Catholic Church.
By selecting this name, the fledgling labor union connected to a proud heritage of shoe making.
After the Civil War, the shoe making industry was changing in the United States. A trade that had long been practiced by skilled craftsman, increasingly became industrialized in larger shops and factories.
The union was formed in response to these changes and it grew quickly.
The lodge started in Chicago quickly enlisted some 600 members.
Within the first year there were 87 lodges, most in the Northeast and Midwest.
Within five years there were between 40,000 and 60,000 members in nearly 400 lodges.
The Knights had become the largest national trade union in the United States.
To keep members informed they published a monthly journal.
They fought hard against wage decreases and worked diligently to stop the hiring of “green hands” or unskilled labor in the shoes making trade.
This effort was not successful, as shoes became increasingly mass produced.
In 1872 a strike by some of the eastern St. Crispin lodges was brutally crushed.
A nationwide depression that started in 1873 further eroded the union’s strength.
The numbers fell to only about a third of the union’s previous strength.
Yet through defeat, the Knights had demonstrated the potential of nation-wide trade union organizing.
Listen to our clips at www.LaborHistoryin2.com
Labor History in 2:00 brought to you by the Illinois Labor History Society and The Rick Smith Show