ANDOVER — It was the center of national attention and forever changed labor conditions in Lawrence while playing a role in furthering workers’ rights nationwide.
Amid national and local strikes, walkouts and charged labor negotiations today, Rich Padova, a Northern Essex Community College professor, gave a talk as well as a quiz on the “1912 Bread and Roses Strike” also known as the “Singing Strike,” “Strike of the Three Loaves” and the “Great Textile Strike of 1912,” at the Andover Senior Center on Friday.
The strike began in early 1912, when the passage of legislation by the state aimed at helping workers lowered the work week from 56 hours to 54 hours, resulting in workers receiving $.33 less per week, said Padova.
The average weekly pay for workers sat at around $8.76 per week.
“Barely enough to pay the rent, groceries other expenses,” said Padova.
Bread cost $.11 at the time, hence the name “Strike of the Three Loaves.”
The first to walk off the job were female Polish weavers, he said.
“Women were at the forefront of the strike,” said Padova.
“They went storming out of the Everett Mills,” he said. “Along the way they grabbed tools, blunt instruments and they were sabotaging the machinery.”
Other groups soon followed in the woman’s footsteps.
Female workers also led parades and marches during the strike and put their grievances into song bringing the name “Singing Strike.”
Padova also chronicled the tale of a bungled attempt to discredit the strikers.
Sticks of dynamite were placed in and around downtown Lawrence, in an attempt to frame strikers, by mill owners and their allies, he said. One of these allies being a funeral home owner. Unfortunately for the conspirators, when the police unwrapped the dynamite they found a label containing the address of the funeral home and the plot was foiled.
Two mill workers were killed during the course of the demonstrations. Anna Lopizzo was fatally shot during a demonstration and John Ramey was bayoneted by a member of a militia brought in to bring order.
A tipping point came when workers testified before the U.S. Congress about their experiences, including a 14-year old girl who had been scalped in a on-the-job accident.
The strike was remembered on its 50th anniversary with a parade known as the “God and Country Parade.” The name, an attempt to redeem the city against charges that the strike was the work of Communist and anarchist radicals, said Padova.
In attendance at the talk were two sisters, Irene and Jane Galluccio, who had witnessed the parade.
“I remember the Governor (John) Volpe was kinda the big attraction and we all wanted to see him,” Irene Galluccio said. “It was a beautiful parade.”
Jane Galluccio added it was a “patriotic” event and Ted Kennedy had also made an appearance.
A pole in Campagnone Park in Lawrence is dedicated to the strike, as well as a boulder across from City Hall.
The boulder was dedicated during the 100th anniversary of the strike.
The talk was attended by a few dozen people.
“I learned a lot and I am very glad I attended,” Patrick Donahue said. “I think the fact that the strike was started at a very individual level at the bottom and then rose.”
Irene Galluccio added she had been unaware of the role Polish women played in the strike.
“The courage people had to go on strike and risk everything,” Rosemary Bray, another attendee added.