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THE TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION IN NEW YORK CITY, 1933-1948
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THE TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION IN NEW YORK CITY, 1933-1948
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Dissertation
THE TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION IN NEW YORK CITY, 1933-1948
1983
Overview
The Transport Workers Union (TWU) was founded in New York City in 1934 to organize mass transit workers. Initiated by the Communist Party (CP), it successfully co-opted pre-existing groups of workers already exploring ways of improving conditions. Its first significant support came from employees working in large groups, primarily shop and powerhouse workers. Among the more scattered operating, station, and maintenance employees, who were heavily Irish, the union benefited from the support of former Irish Republican Army members working in transit. By 1937 the TWU had affiliated with the CIO and won contracts for some 30,000 New York transit workers, an impressive accomplishment in an industry with a half-century record of autocratic management, broken strikes, and defeated unions. Until 1948, the TWU was led by a group close to the CP, which overcame repeated challenges from rival unions and Catholic Church-affiliated dissident groups. Unionization led to a virtual revolution in transit workers' lives, as their intense exploitation and degradation were eased through contractual provisions and union programs. The TWU joined the American Labor Party and brought its members into the institutional structures of the New Deal and the Popular Front, while organizing additional transit, utility, and airline workers throughout the country. In 1940 New York's two largest private transit systems were taken over by the city government and merged with a smaller municipally-run system. The TWU was forced into a prolonged fight to retain its bargaining rights and support on these lines. As a result, it became ever more involved in electoral politics. After World War II, the onset of the Cold War led to a break-up of the center-left milieu in which the TWU had operated. Disagreements over the Henry Wallace campaign and New York Mayor William O'Dwyer's effort to raise the transit fare led to a rift within the TWU leadership. After a bitter faction fight, a group headed by TWU President Michael J. Quill emerged victorious and ousted CP supporters from positions of power. New political and bargaining arrangements were established, effectively ending the first phase of TWU history.
