Early Collective Bargaining Success in New England: Lynn Shoemakers

Breakthrough: Lynn, Massachusetts Shoe Workers (1860s-1870s)

The first major collective bargaining victory in New England occurred in Lynn's shoe industry — then the nation's largest shoe producer.

Key Milestones

• 1860: Great Shoemakers' Strike — 20,000+ workers (men/women) across 25 towns struck for 6 weeks. Demands: wage restoration, price list for piecework, 10-hour day. Partial victory — wages raised, piece rates standardized.
• 1869: Knights of St. Crispin (national shoe union) founded in Lynn — 50,000 members peak.
• 1870s: Lasters' Union (skilled workers who shaped uppers on lasts) won recognition, wage scales, apprenticeship limits.
• 1880s: Boot and Shoe Workers' Union (AFL affiliate) consolidated gains — closed shops, uniform rates.

Why Lynn?

• Concentration: 150+ factories, dense urban workforce.
• Skill segmentation: Cutters, lasters, bottomers, finishers — clear craft identities.
• Mechanization threat: McKay stitcher (1858), Goodyear welt (1871) deskilled — workers organized to control technology.
• Women's participation: 30-40% workforce (stitchers, binders) — early female unionism.

Regional Ripple Effects

• Inspired textile workers (Fall River, Lawrence, Lowell), granite cutters (Quincy), builders (Boston).
• Massachusetts passed first labor bureau (1869), 10-hour law (1874, weakly enforced).
• Model for Knights of Labor and AFL craft unionism.

Limitation

Gains eroded by: manufacturer combinations, strikebreakers, court injunctions (Sherman Act misapplied), 1890s depression. But proved collective action could win — template for 20th century labor.