Notorious Scabs

June 12th, 2012 |

The year 1910 marked a dark time for the city of Bethlehem. Skilled workers from Bethlehem Steel joined forces to fight for better wages and decent working hours to only be met with a resounding no from owner Charles M. Schwab. Soon the smoldering conflict of worker and employer raged into a roaring blaze as the State Constabulary entered the city with orders to aggressively break the strike. This only perpetuated the conflict as the angered mob responded with violent acts of their own. The unrest eventually settled and after the strike was over, the workers returned to the mill with hard hats in hand and stomached pride.

The clippings below capture the expression of angry strike leaders watching their fellow workers cross the picket line. The short note with the heading “Notorious Scabs” properly expresses the anger felt by the strike leaders as they compared workers who crossed the line to Benedict Arnold (the Continental Army General who switched sides during the Revolutionary War and became a Brigadier General for the British Army). Along with the short note, there is a cartoon depicting the scene of a striker crossing the line as well as a list of the men who crossed. Many workers started to abandon the strike in the late spring of 1910 due to their immense amount of hunger and dire need for money.

Today’s blog installment was supplied by Mike DiFiglia, our summer intern here in Historic Bethlehem’s curatorial department.  Mike is a senior Lehigh University student. 

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