The Siege of Rock Island Navy Yard
When labor organizers were barred from a meeting with the base commandant, the union workers didn't just back down—they launched a campaign to have him removed from command.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Some time ago, the mechanics at the Rock Island navy yard had a grievance to lay before the commandant, Major B. F. Blount. When the members of the labor union appeared before him to present the matter, he refused to recognize or have anything to do with them. The grievance was then presented to his home, in writing, but he refused to receive it. The men then struck, and the labor unions are now making a united effort to have him removed from command of the navy yard. The local union has sent letters to all of the Washington members of the next Congress, asking them to use their influence in that direction. Favorable answers have already been received from some of the congressional delegation.
“The men then struck, and the labor unions are now making a united effort to have him removed from command of the navy yard.”
The tension between organized labor and administrative gatekeepers remains a bedrock issue in regional workplace politics. Just as the Rock Island mechanics bypassed a hostile commandant to appeal directly to federal legislators, contemporary unions continue to leverage political pressure when local negotiations reach a stalemate.
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