Episode Details

On this day, 24 September 1945 in New York City, around 1.5 million workers got an impromptu day off when elevator workers in over 2,000 city high-rise buildings, including the Empire State building, went on strike against pay cuts, which workers said breached the contract recommendations of the War Labor Board. Garment workers walked out on sympathy strike. The strike remained strong for five days until the governor intervened, persuading the workers to stop their strike if the employers agreed to arbitration, which they did. The arbitrators eventually ruled in favour of the workers.
More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9699/high-rise-elevator-workers-strike

Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.

• See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
• Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
• Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
• Check out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com
• If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History