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Background Information
The 1957 Appleton Wire Works strike was an indication to skilled workers and business owners alike that the end of an era in the
AWW’s sole product in 1957 was “wire cloth” which was used in the making of paper. Weavers who operated the massive “looms” on which the cloth was created were highly skilled professionals who trained for many years as apprentices before finally being able to take the name of their profession. Apprentices and Weavers alike were members of the Wire Weavers Protection Association, Local 23659.
The strike of 1957 was caused by two main factors (if not many more). First, upper-level management had deemed it necessary for looms at the
Second, as a result of automation, AWW’s owner William Buchanan had opened up a wire works factory in
AWW management claimed that automation would deliver a higher quality product to their customers at a cheaper cost. According to them, the time-consuming process of training new weavers for up to four years as apprentices, and having to pay skilled labor wages was something that would hurt the company’s future.
AWW saw the worker’s union as being a roadblock in relation to lower manufacturing costs. Additionally, Americans were split at mid-century between those who feared unions to be communist in nature, and those who supported working class solidarity. Strikes at this time still had the potential to turn mildly violent, and gained support from one side of the community or the other.
After only a few days, two picketing workers went back to work, in addition one new worker was hired to operate newly installed automatic looms. Weavers who were still on strike referred to these men as scabs, and especially in the case of the newly hired worker, harassed those who kept the company in operation. In general, violence was relegated to the car tires of management who drove the scabs to work, but in other cases threats were lodged. Some threats were serious enough to require police escort and observation of those who “crossed”.
After two months, the strikers had to accept defeat. Although their union had honored the strike through national weaver solidarity, the industry as a whole adopted the new practices. This conversion marked an era of change for traditional industry. There was no doubt on either side that machines could produce a similar if not superior product, however, many extensively trained weavers now found the skills that they had worked so hard to perfect useless. In places where many workers once labored, a few were able to accomplish the same job.
Activity #1: The Corporate Point of View
Activity #2: Threats to a "Scab"
Activity #3: Wanted: Skilled and Highly trained Workers (coming soon)