Historical Spotlight: New Orleans Black Workers’ Strike

Change often comes with revolt. From the beginning of history, change is usually brought on not only by tyrannical regimes, but also by unfair and inequitable social situations. From slave revolts to George Floyd protests, Black Americans are no strangers to putting their lives on the line to fight for better treatment and conditions. Join me as we shine a Historical Spotlight on the New Orleans Black workers’ strike, which became one of the very first integrated strikes in American history. 

In the early half of 1892, streetcar conductors won a shorter workday and the preferential closed shop, which is a type of union security agreement in which employers agree to hire only union members and employees must stay union members at all times to remain employed. 

Seeing the success of the streetcar conductors, many workers in the area reached out to the American Federation of Labor (AFL), a conglomerate of trade unions, for help and by late summer, 49 unions joined together to represent more than 30,000 workers. The Teamsters, the Scalesmen, and the Packers were all integrated unions that came to be known as the “Triple Alliance” to advocate on behalf of Black Americans. 

Hoping to further expand the better conditions across multiple other industries, between 2,000 and 3,000 members of the Triple Alliance went on strike on October 24, 1892. Their demands included a 10-hour workday, higher wages, and the preferential union shop agreement. 

The New Orleans Board of Trade was formed to represent financial and commercial interests and make decisions for the employers. It was backed by the four main railways that serviced the city as well as the large cotton, sugar, and rice commodity exchanges. After raising enough money, the Board requested the militia be sent in to help break the strike. 

No negotiations were had during the first week and employers tried to lean on the widespread racial bigotry of the time to divide the strikers. The Board announced that it would agree to the terms for only the white strikers and completely ignored the demands from the Black strikers. 

In an attempt to turn the public against the strikers, the Board and the city’s newspapers began a campaign to create public hysteria and confusion. There were reports about angry Black mobs, violent Black strikers, and assaults on white people by random crowds of Black unionists.  

Refusing to be divided, the strikers stuck together across their racial differences. Even the predominantly white unions vowed to stay the course until the predominantly Black unions were granted the same concessions. Members of other unions also began striking to support the Triple Alliance.

After receiving the increased support from the Cotton Screwmen’s Union, the Cotton Yardmen’s Union, the Printers, the Boiler Makers, and the Car Driver’s Union, a Committee of Five was formed to lead the combined strike. Half of the city’s workforce and almost all of its unionized workers went on strike, affecting streetcar schedules, utilities, and other vital services for the city. The supply of natural gas and the electrical grid completely failed, leaving the city without any power. Food and drink deliveries completely stopped, which added to panic from residents. Construction, printing, street cleaning, manufacturing, and even fire-fighting services were all impacted. 

Attempting to end the strike, the press again tried to rely on racial hatred to divide the strikers. One newspaper in particular called The New Orleans Times-Democrat made a false claim that Black American strikers were trying to take over the city and even implied that there were Black assaults on white women and children. The claims were easily refuted by the docile picket lines that never, ever saw any violence. 

The Board of Trade and employers utilized the railroads to bring in strikerbreakers from Galveston and Memphis. Tensions rose even more and the mayor at the time essentially declared martial law and forbade public gatherings. Residents respected the order, but the Board persuaded racist governor Murphy J. Foster to deploy the state militia on November 10th. Upon seeing the city calm and orderly, the militia was withdrawn the very next day. 

After that massive mishap, negotiations with both white and Black union leaders began to settle the strike. After 48 hours, the employers agreed to the 10-hour workday and overtime pay, but did not give in to the preferential union shop nor did they recognize the predominantly Black unions in the Triple Alliance as legitimate. 

Unfortunately, the Board of Trade took the loss personally and filed a federal lawsuit against 44 of the unions on November 13, 1892. The federal government accused the unions of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act by engaging in a conspiracy to restrain trade and 45 of the strike leaders were indicted in federal court. The AFL appealed the case and the lawsuit was quietly dropped several years later. 

Overall, the strike helped strengthen the labor movement in New Orleans, helped existing unions gain substantial membership, and even led to the formation of brand new unions. At the time, the strike was considered a success since it demonstrated that Black and white workers could come together in the volatile Deep South. They avoided violence, won most of their demands, avoided military repression, and succeeded in overcoming racial hatred. 

However, when looking back at the tangibles, most scholars have declared the strike as a failure since most of the unions didn’t push hard enough to win the preferential union shop. Despite the strides made in the reduced working hours and increased pay, the only thing the mainstream press focused on was the ungranted demand. 

This perceived failure also historically led the AFL to reject general strikes and remain intensely hostile to even limited strikes. Putting that aside, you can’t detract from the significance of the workers’ struggle. For just a limited time, both Black and white strikers joined hand in hand to achieve their common goal and demands. The strike showed the overall power of people being united across racial divides, something that would rarely be achieved again until the 1960s. 

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Signed, 

Jessica Marie