You ought to be out raising hell. This is the fighting age. Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones
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Thursday September 16, 1915
Chicago, Illinois - Amalgamated Clothing Workers Will Serve Final Notice on Employers
From the Chicago Day Book of September 15th:
LIVING WAGE
OR WAR
Six thousand members of Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America attended two mass meetings last, night and voted for war with manufacturers within the next 10 days unless demands for a living wage and decent conditions in factories are granted. District council today confirmed the vote and prepared final notice to be served on employers within 48 hours. If the Amalgamated calls a strike 50,000 will be affected.
[Emphasis and photograph added.]
Below the fold, our readers can find several recent articles from
The Day Book which document events leading up to what appears to be final preparations for a general strike of clothing workers in the city of Chicago.
From The Day Book of September 4, 1915:
LAYING OFF CUTTERS MAY START SOMETHING
Action of the Royal Tailors, biggest special order manufacturing house in Chicago, in laying off all cutters who participated in union meeting is expected to be the spark that will start the flame of a general strike among the garment workers of Chicago. The cutters have placed before the firm a demand that the discharged cutters be reinstated and if this is not complied with action will be taken at the next meeting held under the auspices of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers.
Frank Rosenblum of the union says that there is scarcely a doubt but that the entire industry will be strike bound inside of two weeks, as the tailors and cutters are revolting against conditions. Four shop meetings will be held Tuesday night from leading special order houses and demands are coming into the union for more shop meetings than can be arranged.
The plan adopted by the general board to raise $100,000 to finance a strike which will include the industry in Chicago by assessing members $1 has already been adopted in Baltimore, and Chicago will hod a meeting today to act on the resolution. In the event of a strike here the tailors and cutters are in position to prevent Chicago work being done in other cities.
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[Photograph added.]
From The Day Book of September 9, 1915:
EXPECT GARMENT WORKERS STRIKE NEXT WEEK
Sidney Hillman
A general strike in the garment workers industry that might have been called this week but for the Jewish holidays is expected next week.
A mass meeting will be held Tuesday night, Sept. 14, when demands will be formulated to present to the manufacturers and if these demands are not granted a general strike will be called by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. Sidney Hillman, the international president, is expected to address this meeting.
At a meeting of the employes of the Royal Tailors, where there is a strike at present owing to the discharge of six union cutters, the people enthusiastically decided to stand by the discharged men. Another meeting will be held Monday, when definite action will be taken.
Shop meetings are being held in different parts of the city and the garment workers are impatiently waiting for demands to be made to the bosses to better conditions and increase wages, which are lower now than at any time in the past ten years.
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[Photograph added.]
From The Day Book of September 14, 1915:
SAYS TRUST PRESS IS NOT GIVING OUT CORRECT NEWS
That the trust press is misleading the public on the very eve of a strike in the clothing industry that may tie up 50,000 clothing workers is the statement of Frank Rosenblum of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, who takes exception to the attitude of the trust press that all the grievances of clothing workers will be settled by arbitration.
[Rosenblum said:]
The organization affected by the arbitration agreement, the Ladies' Garment Workers, is composed of about 7,000 garment workers...In the clothing industry, which includes about 50,000 clothing workers, the employers have adopted a very arbitrary attitude so far and the workers are clamoring for a strike to force better condition.
Two enormous mass meetings will be held tonight at 8 o'clock, one at Hod Carriers' hall, Harrison and Green, and the other at Wicker Park hall, 2040 North av., when the demands to be presented to clothing manufacturers will be approved. They will shortly thereafter be presented and unless the employers agree to recognize these demands a general strike will be called.
Among the demands to be approved tonight are a 48-hour week, 25 per cent increase in wages, abolishing the blacklisting system maintained in the Median Temple and other places, abolishing subcontracting and the fining system, granting a minimum wage of $26 for cutters and $20 for trimmers.
[Rosenblum stated:]
Large meetings of the clothing workers were held yesterday in preparation for the mass meetings tonight...Thursday night the workers in shops where we have an organization agreement will meet to vote on assessment to the support of the strikers if a strike is called in accordance with the $100,000 fund for general support of strikes in clothing industries approved at the Baltimore conference.
We have never been in better condition to handle a strike situation than at the present time. The ground has been prepared throughout the country, so that no Chicago work will be done outside of Chicago.
The international will assume charge of the situation in Chicago, which is one of the worst markets today. President Sidney Hillman is here from New York and will address the meetings tonight.
[Photograph added.]
From The Day Book of September 15, 1915:
COLTHING WORKERS APPROVE BETTERMENT DEMANDS
At two mass meetings last night clothing workers approved demands to be submitted by Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America to clothing manufacturers for increase in wages, 50-hour week, with overtime at pay and a half and provision for apprentices, arbitration board to settle disputes, abolition of present no notice discharge, fining systems and blacklisting agencies and recognition of the union. Manufacturers will be given a week from time demands are presented to state their decision. If they refuse to arbitrate difference between clothing workers and themselves general strike will be called. Will embrace nearly 50,000 workers.
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[Photograph added.]
SOURCE
The Day Book
(Chicago, Illinois)
-Sept 15, 1914
http://www.newspapers.com/...
-Sept 4, 1915
http://www.newspapers.com/...
-Sept 9, 1915
http://www.newspapers.com/...
-Sept 14, 1915
http://www.newspapers.com/...
-Sept 15, 1915
http://www.newspapers.com/...
IMAGES
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, emblem
https://books.google.com/...
Frank Rosenblum about 1915
https://books.google.com/...
Sidney Hillman
http://darrow.law.umn.edu/...
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America,
membership book and constitution
https://archive.org/...
Strike Poster, International Socialist Review, Nov 1915
https://books.google.com/...
See also:
The Clothing Workers of Chicago
1910-1922
-The Chicago Joint Board
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America
Chicago, 1922
https://books.google.com/...
Chapter V: The Strike of 1915
https://books.google.com/...
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Bread and Roses-Judy Collins
As we come marching, marching, unnumbered women dead
Go crying through our singing their ancient cry for bread.
Small art and love and beauty their drudging spirits knew.
Yes, it is bread we fight for -- but we fight for roses, too!
-James Oppenheim
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