The New York City Harbor Strike of 1919 started on January 9, 1919.[1] It involved 15,000[2]–16,000[3] workers striking after it was called by the executive committee of the Marine Workers Union.[2]
It stopped temporarily on January 13, after President Wilson requested intervention by the War Labor Board on January 11 through a telegram.[4] After the War Labor Board's involvement was announced, the strike was suspended on January 13.[5]
Deliberations occurred over the next 3 weeks,[1] a ruling was decided a month later through the case, Marine Workers’ Affiliation of New York Harbor, v. The Railroad Administration, Shipping Board, United States Navy, War Department, and Red Star Towing & Transportation Co. It was ruled on by War Labor Board Umpire, V. Everit Macy.[4][5]
The specifics of the awards was divided by sectors within the industry:
Ferryboats;
Tugs, other towing vessels, and steam lighters
Lighters, covered barges, and hoisters;
Coal and grain boats, scows, and dumps.
The general findings however were as follows.
For applicable sectors, hours would be reduced. Everit cites the World War I armistice, lowering the need for long working hours. For sectors where hours were lowered, their previous pay within a month, established in 1918, would remain unchanged, effectively raising hourly pay. For all sectors, total pay for a 'normal working day' would remain unchanged.[6][7] Hours worked past what was ruled a normal working day by the war board would be paid as 1.5x overtime pay. This, effective May 1, 1919 would remain in effect until peace was declared (the board was disbanded on May 31, 1919) or July 1, 1919[4]
"I therefore find that no wage increase should be granted and that the wage scales
in the award of the New York Harbor Board dated July 12, 1918, and those in the
award of the Railroad Administration Board dated September 1, 1918, shall remain
in effect during the life of this award. That those employees whose working day is
herein reduced from 12 hours to 8 hours shall receive the same monthly wage for the
8 hours as they formerly did for 12 hours. Also that the employees whose week has
been reduced to 48 hours shall receive the same monthly salary as previously."
- Umpire, V. Everit (2/25/1919)[4]
However, The Marine Workers Union refused these terms and re-declared a strike on March 4, 1919.[1][8] A notable exception to the strike occurred two days later, when workers returned to help dock & greet returning soldiers from World War 1.
By March 24, the four main government agencies involved (The Railroad Administration, Shipping Board, United States Navy & War Department) had conceded to strikers demands for higher wages, against the legally binding War Board decision.[1][9] The Railroad Administration was the first to grant the eight hour day with wage increases, after which the three other administrations followed, ending the strike for the public sector.[1]
However, the strike continued for private boats. A preliminary deal was reached for the remaining 4,000-5,000 striking workers on April 20, 1919.[1][10] Which was then followed by two months of deliberation by the Arbitration Board, with an agreement reached on June 16, 1919. The deal conceded retroactive pay increases for private boat workers, 1 week paid vacation (for those who had worked for more than a year), and meal compensation; However the 10 hours day remained the same as before for private boat workers, unlike the public workers who had successfully won an hours decrease.[11]
^ abcdefSquires, Benjamin M. (1919). "The Marine Workers Affiliation of the Port of New York". Journal of Political Economy. 27 (10): 866–874. doi:10.1086/253233. ISSN 0022-3808. JSTOR 1820680. S2CID 154763364.
^ ab"15,000 Ordered out for Harbor Strike" (PDF). The New York Times. 9 January 1919. p. 9. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023.
^Squires, Benjamin M. (February 1919). "The New York Harbor Strike". Monthly Labor Review. 8 (2): 12–27. ISSN 0098-1818. JSTOR 41827417.
^ abcdJ. Davis, James; Ethelbert, Stewart (December 1921). National War Labor Board; A History of Its Formation and Activities, Together with Its Awards and the Documents of Importance in the Record of Its Development. 287. United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. pp. 126–132. ISBN 978-1-314-62140-2.
^ ab"NAME PORT STRIKE ARBITER.; V. Everit Macy Appointed Umpire by War Labor Board" (PDF). The New York Times. 1919-02-13. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
^"HARBOR WORKERS RENEW STRIKE TALK; May Insist on 25 Per Cent. Increase in Pay Refused by War Labor Board. EIGHT-HOUR DAY GRANTED Refer Question to Six Unions of Affiliation for Decision, and May Tie Up Port Again. Expects Large Overtime Wages. HARBOR WORKERS RENEW STRIKE TALK No Change in Garment Strike" (PDF). The New York Times. 1919-02-27. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
^"Port Workers Win 8 Hours; Lose on Wage" (PDF). chroniclingamerica.gov. February 20, 1919.
^"MARINE WORKERS' STRIKE PARALYZES NEW YORK HARBOR; Union Leaders Say 12,000 Are Out and That 90 Per Cent of Traffic Is Tied Up" (PDF). The New York Times. 1919-03-05. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
^"THE HARBOR STRIKE" (PDF). The New York Times. 1919-03-05. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
^"END HARBOR STRIKE; GRANT 10-HOUR DAY; Question of Wages to be Decided by a Joint Committee of Boat Owners and Workers. NONUNION MEN KEEP JOBS Plenty of Work for All – New York's Commerce Relieved from Threat of Demoralization" (PDF). The New York Times. 1919-04-20. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
^"MORE FOR PORT WORKERS.; Arbitration Board, Unionists and Employers, Announces Agreement" (PDF). The New York Times. 1919-06-17. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
and 25 Related for: 1919 New York City Harbor strike information
The NewYorkCityHarborStrike of 1919 started on January 9, 1919. It involved 15,000–16,000 workers striking after it was called by the executive committee...
shoreline.[citation needed] After the end of World War I, the 1919NewYorkCityHarborStrike shut down the port for weeks. The era of the longshoreman,...
Retrieved 2023-08-01. "Harbor Men Begin 'War' By Big Riot In Brooklyn" (PDF). NewYork Tribune. October 28, 1919. "Analysis of Strikes in 1937" (PDF). Bureau...
Vice President since 2021. On January 9, 1919, IUOE Local 379 participated in the 1919NewYorkCityHarborStrike, as one of six unions that made up the...
The Great Steel Strike of 1919 was an attempt by the American Federation of Labor to organize the leading company, United States Steel, in the American...
considered legal. 1919 New YorkCityHarborStrike "Tugboat strike, set for Monday, expected to tie up harbor traffic". NewYork Times. 30 January 1946....
aspects of the raids. On December 21, 1919, the Buford, a ship the press nicknamed the "Soviet Ark", left NewYorkharbor with 249 deportees. Of those, 199...
Philip Shabecoff Special to The NewYork (1971-05-17). "RAIL STRIKE CALLED TODAY ACROSS U. S. AS TALKS FAIL". The NewYork Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved...
The written history of NewYorkCity began with the first European explorer, the Italian Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524. European settlement began with...
attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii...
transportation system of NewYorkCity is a network of complex infrastructural systems. NewYorkCity, being the most populous city in the United States,...
in numerous other states, from NewYork, Pennsylvania and Maryland, into Illinois and Missouri, also went out on strike. An estimated 100 people were killed...
The NewYorkCity draft riots (July 13–16, 1863), sometimes referred to as the Manhattan draft riots and known at the time as Draft Week, were violent...
The NewYork Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the NewYorkCity borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball...
The New School is a private research university in NewYorkCity. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission...
The Pullman Strike was two interrelated strikes in 1894 that shaped national labor policy in the United States during a period of deep economic depression...