 Washington Navy Yard c. 1862 | |
| Date | July 31 – August 15, 1835 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 15 days |
| Venue | Washington Navy Yard |
| Coordinates | 38°52′24″N 76°59′49″W / 38.87333°N 76.99694°W |
| Type | Labor strike |
| Cause | Order limiting workers' lunch privileges and ten-hour day. |
| Organised by | Samuel Briggs, George Lyndall and John Miskill |
| Participants | 175 workers |
| Outcome | Strike failed in its objectives; workers returned to work. |
The Washington Navy Yard labor strike of 1835 is considered the first strike of federal civilian employees.[1][2][3][4] The strike began on Wednesday July 31, 1835, and ended August 15, 1835. The strike supported the movement advocating a ten-hour workday and redressing grievances such as newly imposed lunch-hour regulations.[5][6] The strike failed in its objectives for two reasons, the Secretary of the Navy refused to change the shipyard working hours and the loss of public support due to the involvement of large numbers of mechanics and laborers in the race riot popularly known as the Snow Riot or Snow Storm.[7]
- ^ The Encyclopedia of Strikes in American History editors Aron Brenner, Benjamin Daily and Emanuel Ness, (New York: M.E.Sharpe, 2009), p. xvii.
- ^ U.S. Dept. of Labor, Third Annual Report of the Commissioners of Labor, Volume 3., Government Printing Office: Washington D.C., 1887, p. 1034.
- ^ A Proud Past A Bright Future AFGE: The Future is Ours A history of the American Federation of Government Employees, AFC-CIO, Washington D.C. n.d., p. 2. http://www.nylocal3148.org/docs/History.pdf Archived 2017-12-12 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ziskind, David, One Thousand Strikes of Government Employees, (Columbia University Press, New York, 1940), p.24
- ^ Maloney, Linda M., The Captain from Connecticut: The Life and Naval Times of Isaac Hull (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1986), 422.
- ^ Sharp, John G.M., The Washington Navy Yard Strike and "Snow Riot" of 1835, http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/portsmouth/shipyard/sharptoc/washingtonsy.html
- ^ Maloney, pp. 438–439.