North Adams strike

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The North Adams strike (also called North Adams Scandal) was a strike in 1870 by shoe workers of the Order of the Knights of St. Crispin, against Calvin T. Sampson's Shoe factory, in North Adams, Massachusetts. The strike itself was broken when the factory superintendent, George W. Chase, fired the Irish workers, replacing them with newly employed seventy-five Chinese men from California.[1] Bringing national attention to North Adams, the event started a nation-wide trend of bringing in scab labor and helped perpetuate the concept of immigrants coming to the United States to steal jobs, which led to much hostility towards Chinese immigrants across the nation. [2]

North Adams strike
North_Adams_strike_breakers.jpg
"Chase's Chinamen"— Chinese workers
Date1870
Location
42°42′7.44″N 73°6′49.97″W
GoalsEight-hour day
MethodsStrikes, Protest, Demonstrations
Resulted inChinese immigrants brought in from California, replacing union workers for more competitive wages
Parties to the civil conflict
Mill management
Lead figures

Non-centralized leadership

Calvin T. Sampson George W. Chase

Casualties and losses
Arrests: 2