During the 1912 Boston streetcar strike, conductors and carmen (or "motormen") of streetcars for Boston Elevated Railway Company in Boston, Massachusetts went on a 53-day labor strike after the company retaliation against members of the union. The strikers demanded that the company recognize their union and provide better wages and working conditions. Ultimately, the strike ended after an arbitration settlement in favor of the union, and the company agreed to stop discriminating against union members.
Events
Boston Elevated Railway Company managed both elevated railways and surface routes, absorbing streetcar services that were previously managed by West End Street Railway in the late 19th century. In 1912, streetcar conductors and carmen at Boston Elevated Railway Company joined the local Boston Carmen's Union and tried to meet and negotiate with company leadership. Rather than recognize the union, the company fired approximately 300 unionized employees. In response, the union met and voted to strike on June 7, with 1,389 members in favor and only 8 opposed. The strikers wanted better wages and working conditions, and they wanted the company to officially recognition their union.
During the course of the strike action, strikers attacked streetcars and disrupted car service in Boston. Policemen guarded streetcar barns (which housed cars when they were out of service) and rode along on streetcars, as the cars in some districts were pelted with "volleys of stones". A few days into the strike, a bomb damaged a streetcar on its route, resulting in minor injuries among passengers. As the strike continued into July, a man was caught trying to plant dynamite along a streetcar track. Harvard and Yale students enlisted as strikebreakers.
On June 16, a demonstration was held in support of the strikers on the Boston Common, with an estimated 50,000 to 75,000 men and women in attendance. The Boston Central Labor Union voted to boycott the car lines for the duration of the strike. Separately, students from Wellesley College also pledged to boycott the streetcars and donated $1,000 to the strike fund.
After 53 days, the strike ended on July 29. The Massachusetts State Board of Conciliation and Arbitration found that the strikers were justified in believing that many had been fired for joining a union. In the arbitration settlement, Boston Elevated Railway Company agreed to stop discriminating against union members.
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