On this day in labor history, the year was 1937.
That was the day whistles blowing and the call to strike could be heard through the aisles of Woolworth in downtown Detroit.
108 saleswomen walked away from their workstations and cash registers.
The eight-day sit-down had begun.
The young women saw from the experience in Flint that sit-down strikes could win.
They evicted management, barricaded the doors and found 200 or so customers still inside the store, wanting to join them.
The strikers issued their demands: a 10 cent an hour raise, an eight-hour day, union recognition and a union hiring hall, free uniforms and laundering and more.
Kresge department stores immediately gave their workers a raise in order to prevent similar stoppages.
The striking women at Woolworth made themselves comfortable and the sit-down soon spread to a second store.
Leaders from Local 705 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees threatened a national strike if demands were not met.
Union cooks provided meals and union musicians provided entertainment. Hotel workers from across the city picketed in front of the store to show solidarity.
After seven days, Woolworth’s management caved and agreed to most of the strikers demands.
High turnover in the workforce would undo contract gains at area Woolworth stores soon after the sit-down.
But the victory electrified retail workers across the country.
The sit-down spread to retailers in St. Louis, New York, San Francisco, Minnesota and Washington.
In Three Strikes: Miners, Musicians, Salesgirls, and the Fighting Spirit of Labor’s Last Century, Dana Frank notes that, “over 60 years later, unions today in department stores all over the country owe their existence in part to the Woolworth strike.”
February 7 - Strike at Cripple Creek
February 6 - Philly Garment Workers Win!
February 5 - The Fight for Craft Governance
February 4 - Solidarity on the Coast
February 3 - Anti-Trust Injunctions Used Against Labor
February 2 - The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
February 1 - A Pivotal Moment in the Flint Sit-Down
January 31 - The Big Easy Fires 7000 Teachers
January 30 - Fred Korematsu Day
January 29 - Bread & Roses Striker, Anna LoPizzo, Shot Dead
January 28 - The 1917 Bath Riots
January 27 - Bans on Yellow Dog Contracts Ruled Unconstitutional
January 26 - Sid Hatfield Stands Trial
January 25 - Solidarity Works!
January 24 - Arturo Alfonso Schomburg is Born
January 23 - If Poison Doesn’t Work, Try Briggs!
January 22 - Tragedy in the Mines & in the Union Hall
January 21 - On Strike for Health & Dignity
January 20 - The Flint Womens Emergency Brigades
January 19 - A Snapshot in Misery
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Regenerative Skills
The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall
The No-Frills Teacher Podcast
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
The Mel Robbins Podcast