Museum of the City of New
York (1220 Fifth St., New York, NY 10029) just ended an exhibit about the
history of workers in its city. It’s not too late, however, to enjoy the
exhibit. It is the basis for City of
Workers, City of Struggle edited by Joshua Freeman (Museum of City of NY,
2019; $40). Our Chicago Public Library has a copy, as do other libraries.
The
book’s introduction notes that working people help define politics, culture and
the public sphere. In struggles between employees and employers, in struggles
among groups of workers and in struggles within unions, people determine “what
makes a good and livable city.” The book is about labor movements (plural), the
introduction explains. That’s because the marketplace is fluid with new labor
sectors replacing the old, with new immigrant groups arriving with new skills, with
new wage arrangements and more. The book’s contributors devote chapters to
colonial New York, slave labor, housework, sailors and dockhands, garment
workers, labor relations and race, Puerto Rican contributions, civil servants
and others. The book is richly illustrated with old pictures, news articles,
posters and the like. A recurring theme is the rise, fall and renewal of
several unions. There are more union workers in New York City, by the way, than
anywhere else in our country.
Any story about New York City, particularly a
story about workers, must treat the fire of March 1911 in the Asch Building
(now known as Brown Building, owned by N.Y. University). Within 18 minutes, 144
workers at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory were dead and two more died
subsequently. It happened that Frances Perkins (1880-1965) was in a nearby café.
She witnessed the horror. If you have ever drawn overtime pay, ever collected
an unemployment check, ever benefited from Social Security, ever been thankful
for safety features at your job site, it is because of the tireless efforts of
Perkins—first with the Consumers League, then as a New York State official and
finally as the first woman cabinet member, serving as Secretary of Labor through
all of President Franklin Roosevelt’s (1882-1945) terms. She often said that the
imprint of the Triangle Company tragedy compelled her to improve conditions for
working families.
City of Workers, City of Struggle details how the CIO grew during the
late 1930s in New York City, borrowing the sit down tactic from John L Lewis
(1880-1969). The tactic was effective at a public transportation powerhouse, at
Woolworths and other dry goods stores and more. Although the CIO is associated
with steel in Pittsburgh and automobiles in Detroit, many CIO unions had their
national headquarters in New York City.
The book’s
chapter on health care features Local 1199, a union for which I briefly worked
in the early 1970s. Led by Leon Davis (1905-1992), this union began among
pharmacists and other drugstore workers. Davis hired Elliott Godoff (1905-1975)
to organize hospital workers. For 40 years after the 1935 National Labor
Relations Act (aka the Wagner Act) voluntary hospitals remained outside of labor relations
jurisdiction. Also many nurses felt that as professionals they did not need a
union. And, concerns about public safety limit a union’s tactics in a hospital
setting. Nonetheless in December 1958 a Bronx hospital recognized Local 1199 as
“sole and exclusive bargaining agent” for its workers. There were lots of ups
and downs for Local 1199 and other health care unions for several years. At
critical moments, Cardinal John O’Connor (1920-2000) assisted the union with
dramatic testimony and action. In 1995 an on-again-off-again merger between
Local 1199 and Service Employees International was ratified.
Near its conclusion, City of Workers, City of Struggle considers the new worker centers.
These centers do not
engage in collective bargaining. They are
a combination of social service and successful advocacy for workers.
Domestic workers have since 1938 been excluded
from federal labor standards, though recently some federal policies have been
extended to “direct care workers.” The remarkable Ai-Jen Poo is U.S. born of
Taiwanese heritage. As a college student, Poo volunteered with an
Asian-American service agency. Still in her 20s, she began systematic visits to
many New York City playgrounds where she built relationships with nannies and
other care workers who frequented the parks. She organized small meetings and
by 2002 her groups were pressuring city entities for improved oversight of
their occupation. In 2007 she launched National Domestic Workers Alliance (www.domesticworkers.org). NDWA successfully lobbied for labor
standards that exceed federal minimums in nine states and in Seattle. NDWA is now
pushing for a National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights to include paid
overtime, safe working conditions, meal and rest breaks, earned sick time and
fair scheduling.
Bhairavi Desal is another remarkable woman who
has spent years visiting garages and airport lots talking with taxi drivers.
Her Taxi Workers Alliance (www.nytwa.org) lobbies for precarious workers. Fekkak
Mamdouh, a leader with Restaurant Opportunities Center (www.rocunited.org), does the same with food service workers. In
particular, ROC campaigns to end harassment, to improve scheduling and to
establish a fair wage structure. These centers must rely on public attention gained
through rallies, education materials, and individual meetings with decision
makers.
City of Workers, City of Struggle is a history book. But it is inspiring. It
reminds the reader that although there are setbacks, social improvement is
possible. The essential ingredients are always dedicated people and focused action
over many years.
Droel edits a print newsletter on faith and work, INITIATIVES (P O Box
291102, Chicago, IL 60629)
