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"Silk City"
By the 1880s, Paterson, New Jersey was developing half of the silk available in the United States and earned the nickname "Silk City". The mills Dexter, Lambert & Co. and the Doherty Mill had the perfect location in Paterson because of the easy access to New York and fashion. Toward the early 1910s, problems begin to arise with workers. -
Beginning Signs of Strike
Eight hundred silk weavers from the Doherty plant walked off during the job. This group originally initially left because of a technological advancement from originally tending to two silk looms to now four, which was nearly impossible for the workers. Ribbon weavers and dye house workers slowly joined the original strikers. -
Strike
Approximately, 24,000 men, women and children have fully committed to participating in the Paterson silk strike and about 300 mills become affected by it. The organization of the strike is greatly contributed by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Big Bill" Hayward, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Carlo Tresca, and other famous IWW leaders arrived in Paterson and lead the workers in the following months. -
Arrests
Flynn, Quinain, and Tresca, three out of the five I.W.W. leaders are arrested for instigating a riot. After this is when the meetings and strikes start becoming more and more intense. Additionally, Haywood begins to take most of the lead. -
Strike at Haledon
Strikers and the I.W.W. would meet in Haledon, New Jersey, right outside of Paterson because it was not in the limits of Paterson's authority, making it impossible for anybody from Paterson to intervene. At this particular meeting, 20,000 attended to listen to speeches. An example of what they were saying was, "the Paterson silk mills are slaughter houses, where your blood is used to decorate the backs of the aristocratic women of the United States." -
The Pageant
"Big Bill" Haywood conducted "Paterson Strike Pageant" in which 1,029 strikers participated in a show demonstrated the entire life of the strike. It demonstrated from the day the first strikers left because of the looms, up until the exact day the production was being presented at Madison Square Garden. It gave the 15,000 people in the audience the true background of why they had to go on strike against the mills. -
Meeting to End the Strike
After months, strikers began to feel hunger and loss from not earning money. Not all workers decide to return, but after this meeting that 5000 attended, they are promised that if they go back to the mills, workers will be able to have a conversation about wages and hours with bosses. -
Precaution
In years following the strike, when workers seemed unhappy, the bosses took care of it quickly and efficiently. Paterson company owners recognized unions and made significant alterations instead of risking another strike. This would ultimately save their industry in the long run.
