In Transit: The Transport Workers Union in New York City, 1933-1966

by Joshua B. Freeman

This history of New York transit workers from the Great Depression to the monumental 1966 transit strike shows how, through collective action, the men and women who operated the world's largest transit system brought about a virtual revolution in their daily lives. Joshua Freeman's detailed descriptions of both transit work and transit workers, and his full account of the formation and development of the Transport Workers Union provide new insight into the nature of modern industrial unionism. Freeman pays particular attention to the role of Communists and veterans of the Irish Republican Army -- including TWU president Michael J. Quill -- in organizing and leading the union, as well as to the Catholic labor activists who were the principal union dissidents. Freeman also explores the intense political struggles over the New York transit system. He links the TWU's pioneering role in public sector unionism to worker militancy and the union's deep involvement in New York politics. His portrait of Fiorello La Guardia's determined opposition to the TWU belies La Guardia's pro-labor reputation. By combining social and political history with the study of collective bargaining, In Transit makes a major contribution to the history of American labor, radicalism, and urban politics. Now with a new epilogue that frames the history of the union in the context of labor's revival and recent changes in TWU's leadership, In Transit is an intimate portrait of the politics of mass transit and public sector unionism, and one of the most detailed reconstructions to date of the social processes of industrial unionism. This book will appeal to anyone interested in New York City's subways, politics, history,and labor.

Genres: Labor, History

456 pages, Paperback

First published April 13, 1989

Reviews

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freeman tells the story of the rise of the Transit Workers Union in the 1930s-50s, a union formed by in the public transportation of NYC by Communists amongst a majority Irish immigrant workforce, many of whom were veterans of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). It begins by explaining the harsh existence of the transport workers who ran the buses and subways when the private sector, making little money under very harsh conditions, but also socially conservative since much of the Irish life revolved around the Church. However, since many were IRA veterans who left Ireland after the Civil War, they fit well into the clandestine nature of building the union. Indeed, as "transit" was a Britishism, where transport was largely used in the US, by choosing "transit" in their name, the union sought to attract Irish members.

By the 1930s, Communist Party members began to seed themselves in the industry to build unions, which saw Irish-born Mike Qui;l rise through the ranks to become the leader of the TWU. He was a Communist Party member in a union that had many socially conservative members, and kept a balance in his union during the Popular Front era as a colorful figure. He preached a confrontational style that attracted many supporters, but faced challenges when the city led by LaGuardia took over transportation in 1940 which set the union back after LaGuardia showed weak support for labor gains. WW2 solidified TWU in favor of labor peace and gained strength after the war. Quill broke with the Communists after he soured on their ending of the Popular Front, disparaging both Foster and Thompson's unbreaking style and that both were distanced from labor, finally leaving after being ordered to endorse Henry Wallace for President in 1948, and quickly moving to purge other Communists from leadership of the TWU, briefly endorsing red-baiting and building a center-right coalition with Catholic trade unionists.Though TWU was hurt by the political fratricide, Quill still managed to keep the union militant, culminating in the 1966 strike.

Freeman argues that the TWU was amongst the first transit unions in a major US city, and though much of what happened was similar to other CIO unions, it was unique in that it was mostly public sector workers and mostly conservative Irish workers even if the leadership was radical, simply because it helped lift the members out of poverty and they enjoyed the confrontation with management. Probably the break with the Communists was inevitable because of the contradictions of maintaining the Popular Front alliance. This story played out similarly in other CIO unions under the weight of the Cold War. The commitment to bettering the lives of working people who ran the subways and buses though, helped lift its members out of horrible conditions and made transit jobs into decent good jobs.

[Gary Bono · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the most important and revealing thing is the way the book details the close personal relationship between Union leader Mike Quill and the leader of the Communist Part of the US in the 1930's and 40's, Earl Browder. This personal relationship. I think, explains a loy about things that happened to the TWU in the late 40's. It's significant to note that although both Quill and Browder eventually broke with the Party neither became Anti-Communists in the cold war sense, always considering themselves to be leftists.

[Mark Bowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joshua Freeman, In Transit; the Transport Workers Union in New York City, 1933-1936 (1989)
1. Throughout the country the transport workers had little organizing success, NYC was successful in organizing a union
2. The main factor for this was the communist party leaders (Michael Quill)