The Union Steps In
In early 1929, southern mill workers became increasingly frustrated with the stretch-out system. Northern union organizers saw this as a perfect opportunity to step in to a region that previously resisted organized labor. The Loray Mill caught the attention of the National Textile Workers Union, NTWU, from Massachusetts. Since the mill was owned by northerners, the NTWU thought Loray Mill workers would be more inclined to join the union. The NTWU came to Gaston County and held a public meeting on Saturday, March 30, 1929. There they rallied and voted on a strike. All workers unanimously decided to strike to attain better working conditions and wages. (Weisbord)
The Strike
On Monday, April 1, 1929 nearly 1,800 Loray Mill workers went on strike to protest intolerable working conditions. The strikers asked for a 40 hour work week, a minimum pay of 20 dollars per week, union recognition, and a stop to the stretch-out system. The mill owners refused to negotiate these conditions and in turn evicted many strikers from their mill-owned houses and fired five employees. Many strikers had no food or shelter for their families and by the end of the month were forced to go back to work. However, this did not end the strike. A few hundred remained on strike and lived in a tent village set up by the union. The mayor was driven to ask for help and National Guard troops were sent in. On April 18, the NTWU headquarters were destroyed and they had to move locations and rebuild. Armed strikers protected the new NTWU headquarters and the tent village where strikers lived.