In 1928, the National Textile Workers Union sent organizers to Gastonia, North Carolina, to organize workers at the Loray Cotton Mill into a union. The following spring those workers went on strike. Mill owners refused to negotiate and threw striking workers out of their mill-owned housing. The strike turned violent, and Gastonia’s police chief was killed. In this chapter, we’ll explore the events and experiences of the strike through contemporary newspaper coverage.
Section Contents
- The Gastonia Strike
- The Strike Begins
- An Industry Representative visits Loray Mills
- A Union Organizer Blames the Mill
- The Strikers Move Into Tents
- Congress Considers an Inquiry Into Textile Strikes
- The Police Chief is Killed
- The Mill Mother's Lament