Labor Day is just about here, providing us an opportunity to reflect on the labor movement and some of its Jewish roots.
Arthur and I just finished the first two seasons of HBO's The Gilded Age, an 1880s-era, New York-based drama about how the filthy rich were challenged by the obscenely (and newly) wealthy industrialists, also known as the robber barons. Anyone who enjoys a costume drama would probably love this one.
It was only in season two that the show ventured beyond the parlors and ballrooms of Fifth Avenue to take a closer look at the lives of the poor, the downtrodden, and, importantly, the working class. Because the show revolves around a railroad and steel mogul, much of its narrative about labor strife takes place in the Midwest, where workers are depicted chanting, "Eight, eight, eight!" in their quest for eight-hour workdays, eight hours of rest, and eight hours of free time. So far, the show has not touched upon the significant organizing taking place—and the important role that many Jews played in it—right there in New York.
The influence of Jews in the American labor movement constitutes a major chapter in the story of workers' rights in the United States. While the wealthy classes had their share of Jews, a much larger group of Jews were just arriving from Eastern Europe, settling in tenement neighborhoods in New York and elsewhere. Among them were those who held previously developed, sometimes radical, social justice and labor ideals forged under oppressive conditions, economic hardships, discrimination, and violence in the Old Country.
There are still plenty of living American Jews who can recall stories of their grandparents or great-grandparents who found themselves working under harsh conditions in industries like garment manufacturing. Wages were low, and exploitation was rampant. That industry, in particular, became a focal point for Jewish activism.
Jewish activists provided leadership that spanned the spectrum of reforms. Some, like Samuel Gompers and David Dubinsky, focused on practical reforms. Gompers went on to found the American Federation of Labor (AFL) while Dubinsky served as the president of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) and was instrumental in founding the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). Their leadership helped secure better wages, shorter hours, and safer workplaces for millions of workers. Other activists pursued more radical—some might say revolutionary—reforms like those advocated by the Socialist and Communist parties. Emma Goldman, ultimately deported from the U.S., readily comes to mind.
Jewish women, in particular, raised their voices and played a critical role in the movement, especially in the garment industry. A massive strike in 1909 by some 20,000 New York garment workers, led primarily by Jewish women, many of them immigrants, is considered a turning point in labor history.
Sadly, its success was not enough to prevent the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911, which took the lives of 146 workers, most of them Jewish and Italian immigrants. The fire revealed the dangerous and inhumane conditions under which they labored and played an important role in garnering public support for reform.
Traditions of social justice in Jewish culture reach back to the Torah. Through the coincidence of their arrival in America during the Gilded Age and the related Industrial Revolution, Eastern European Jews in particular drew on their traditions of social justice, education, and community as they joined hands with so many others who also shaped the American labor landscape. Many Jews—among them notable Detroiters like Myra Wolfgang, Irv Bluestone, and Harold Shapiro—continued this Jewish legacy over the decades that followed. Their leadership, activism, and cultural contributions helped secure significant victories for workers in ways we take for granted today.
This fall, I'll be offering an in-person class (also available on Zoom) on "The American Jewish Experience." You can find more information in the newsletter. I will share the stories of the people who shaped our Jewish community and those whose influence extended far beyond our own neighborhoods. I hope you'll join me.
In the meantime, I wish us all a very Happy Labor Day!