The Strike of '28
by Daniel Georgianna with Roberta Hazen Aaronson
The textile industry in New Bedford and Fall Rive typified the 1920s - drastic wage cuts took place amidst growing productivity while manufacturers put profits elsewhere. In the spring of 1928, thirty-five thousand people in New Bedford and Fall River began a six-month long strike against a 10% wage cut, marking New England's largest strike of the 20's. It was a time when a transient textile industry sought lower production costs, and New England's position as the textile center of the world was giving ay to the might of southern competition.
The mill workers received wide support from local merchants, newspapers and clergy, but ethnic and religious divisions kept the strikers divided. At the strike's core, the local conservative craft unions clashed with the militant industrial union sponsored by the Communist Party. In the end, these divisions, aided by the declining economy of textiles, the power of the owners and the coming winter, defeated the strike.
The Strike of '28 begins with a look at New Bedford's world dominance as a whaling port and the use of whaling capital in building one of the most important textile centers of the world. The book explores the development of the mill community, mill expansion and working conditions leading to the events of 1928. The story closes with the aftermath of the strike when both unions disappeared and the CIO came to New Bedford. First-hand interviews with strike participants and leaders heighten the story's drama and emotion.
