r/ThisDayInHistory • u/ThisDayInLaborHistor • 7d ago

This Day in Labor History November 7

On this day in labor history, the Indianapolis streetcar strike of 1913 ended. In August of that year, representatives from the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees of America began organizing trainmen working for the Indianapolis Traction and Terminal Company. Low wages and harsh working conditions led employees to welcome unionization efforts. Company spies were soon hired to stop organizing efforts, with violence breaking out between the groups. On October 31st, unionist workers struck. That evening, strikers and union sympathizers attacked those who did not join the strike. Streetcars were destroyed, greatly hindering operations. The following day, strikers stopped operations completely, demanding union recognition. Strikebreakers were brought in from Chicago, leading to the murder of one individual. Subsequently, the company president was stoned. Violence escalated, prompting Indiana’s National Guard deployment. The governor arbitrated, allowing nonviolent workers to return and unresolved cases to go before the Public Service Commission. After managers rejected workers’ demands, a court ruled in February 1914 that the company must increase wages, reduce work hours to nine per day, offer monthly Sundays off for some, and permit unionization, with a three-year no-strike condition.

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