The Traditional Power of a Work Stoppage
By Michele Petrovsky
Most folks consider the Homestead Strike of 1892 as the seminal event in the history of labor unions in this country. But that bloody, brutal battle between steelworkers and Pinkertons had an antecedent.
In the 1600s, in the Jamestown colony of what was to become Virginia, unskilled labor was imported. Slaves or indentured servants did the dirty work. But skilled laborers were recruited from Great Britain and, to a lesser extent, Germany.
Except for one category of skilled people – glassmakers. Apparently none could be found in Britain. So the head honchos in Jamestown turned to Poland (and to Slovakia and Armenia, depending on which historical account one reads. But most records call these folks Polish). In 1608, the first of these craftsmen arrived. They were accepted as free men and were allowed (big of the honchos, don’t you think?) to continue to practice their religion. Understandably, these four considered themselves as citizens with all the rights pertaining thereto. Until they tried to vote in the colony’s first elections in 1619, and were prevented by the Governor from doing so.
The glassmakers didn’t take this affront lying down. Instead, they simply refused to work. No one is sure of how long this work stoppage lasted. But it was completely successful, because, after a bit, the colony’s legislature reversed itself. The Polish glassmakers were thereafter able to vote in all of Jamestown’s elections.
If only today's work stoppages were as thoroughly efficacious…
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Michele Petrovsky is the Webmaster at Tools4Change, Author of “Cathedral or Bazaar? Fix Higher Education – Teach by the Seat of Your Pants ,” “Donkey Dharma,” and “Quick Guide to Linux.” Petrovsky resides in Glen Mills, Pa.
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