Boston Police Strike

Boston police strike

(1919)

During the year 1919 people were still recovering from world war 1 and also for that time people were going on strikes all over the U.S.  Dressmakers were striking along with other factory workers. People were going on strikes for workers right. In Boston police were doing the same thing.  New recruits to the police force would receive two dollars per day. Their wages were even lower than the earnings of most unskilled factory workers. Officers worked seven days per week, with a day off every other week, during which they could not leave town without special permission. The Boston Police went on strike on September 9, and the newspapers made sure people knew of it . Some newspapers were falsely reported that gangs were running wild and attacking women throughout the city. In actuality, the strike prompted a lot of property damage but did not seriously endanger the safety of the community partly because of the quick response of the government. At the time it was illegal for police officers to strike so police officers would call in sick but it was strongly discouraged. Still on September 9th by 8:00 p.m. a crowd estimated at 10,000 gathered in Scollay Square (a center of amusement halls and theaters) soon after 8:00 a cigar store window was broken and the store was swarmed and everything was taken. Looting followed this as well as mayhem, this included rock throwing at streetcars and overturning the carts of street vendors downtown and in South Boston until well into the night of September 9.

sources:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-boston-police-department-goes-on-strike
http://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/history/item/4829-the-boston-police-strike-of-1919