Boston police strike
The Boston Police Strike, which occurred from September 9 to September 22 in 1919, involved a significant walkout by 1,117 of the city’s 1,544 policemen, triggered by deteriorating pay and working conditions. This strike occurred in the context of widespread labor unrest in the post-World War I era, characterized by rising inflation and a strong push for labor rights. The strike was marked by an immediate outbreak of violence in Boston's South End, prompting Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge to deploy the state guard to restore order. The police strike was ultimately quelled on September 22, as the striking officers were not allowed to return to their positions, leading to the recruitment of new personnel.
The events surrounding the strike were indicative of a broader national trend, as many police forces across the United States began to unionize. The Boston Police Union's affiliation with the American Federation of Labor (AFL) raised concerns among city officials about the impartiality of law enforcement, as they believed the union's interests conflicted with their duty to uphold the law. The aftermath of the strike had lasting implications for police unions, leading the AFL to suspend efforts to organize police for nearly two decades, while police unions later adopted policies that prohibited strikes. The Boston policemen would eventually reorganize in 1965, paving the way for formal labor contracts with the city.
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Boston police strike
The Event: Two-week work stoppage by the majority of Boston’s uniformed police officers
Date: September 9–22, 1919
Place: Boston, Massachusetts
Significance: This strike raised the question of how to balance public safety and the right of police officers to unionize, bargain collectively, and strike for economic justice.
The Boston police strike lasted from September 9 to September 22, 1919. Of the city’s 1,544 policemen, 1,117 went on strike. Immediately after the policemen walked out, acts of violence broke out in the South End area of Boston. On September 11, Governor Calvin Coolidge brought in the state guard, which quickly established control over the city. On September 22, the police gave in, ending the strike, and the recruiting of new policemen began. None of the striking policemen was allowed to return to duty.
The Boston police strike was only one of many labor disturbances in 1919. During World War I, inflation had driven prices up, while unions had gained government backing for the right to organize and bargain collectively in exchange for wage concessions. In 1919, 4 million workers, or 22 percent of the workforce, engaged in strikes. In Boston, telephone operators and transit workers had gone on strike and succeeded before the policemen walked out.
Work conditions for policemen in Boston had deteriorated significantly over the decades. Their pay scale dated back to 1898, while prices had gone up 79 percent, city government had increased their obligations, promotion regulations were arbitrary, and the quality of police facilities was generally poor. When Mayor Andrew J. Peters and Police Commissioner Edwin Upton Curtis responded hesitatingly to the policemen’s demands, offering only a two-hundred-dollar annual increase, they decided to organize and affiliate themselves with the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The Boston Police Union was part of a larger movement: by August of 1919, the police forces of thirty-seven large cities had unionized and affiliated themselves with the AFL. Commissioner Curtis suspended the nineteen policemen who had been elected officers of the new union, among them union president John F. McInnes. The bad pay and work conditions, along with the city officials’ hostile response to their demands, convinced the policemen to strike: they voted 1,134 to 2 for the walkout.
From the perspective of the city officials, the policemen, by joining the AFL, had entered a conflict of interest. City government argued that policemen were officers of the state, bound to the impartial enforcement of the law. Any affiliation, then, with an outside group that represents only a part of the population would compromise police officers in the exercise of their duty. The policemen, on the other hand, could point to pay and work conditions that undermined their ability to carry out their mission effectively.
For police unions, the Boston strike had important consequences. The AFL suspended its attempts to organize police officers for the next two decades, though police were eventually allowed to unionize again. Most police unions remained and remain independent. Those that are affiliated with the AFL-CIO carry a no-strike rule in their charters, though this is a matter of form as it remains illegal for police to go on strike. Police officers have, however, been able to circumvent this through informal actions, known as the "Blue Flu," in which large numbers of officers call out sick at the same time. The Boston policemen eventually reorganized as the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association in 1965. In 1968, the police officers arbitrated a labor contract with the city of Boston.
Bibliography
Anthony, Robert E. Boston Police: Behind the Badge. Charleston: Arcadia, 2014. Print.
Briley, Ron. "Boston Police Strike (1919)." Revolts, Protests, Demonstrations, and Rebellions in American History. Vol. 1. Ed. Steven Laurence Danver. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2011. 757–59. Print.
Herwick, Edgar B. "The Boston Police Strike That Impacted Labor for Generations." WGBH News. WGBH, 15 Aug. 2014. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
Russell, Francis. A City in Terror: The 1919 Boston Police Strike. New York: Penguin, 1977. Print.
Weir, Robert E. "Boston Police Strike of 1919." Workers in America: A Historical Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2013. 76–8. Print.
Wells, Donna M. Boston Police Department. Mount Pleasant: Arcadia, 2003. Print.