The Strike-Breakers of Sumner Iron Works
The Labor Journal calls out three specific workers who crossed the picket line to keep the machines running.
George Meyers, a former member of the Machinists' Union who was befriended by the organization during a time of sickness, is now showing his gratitude by working in the plant against which the machinists are fighting for an eight-hour day. John Stelling, a foreman at the Sumner Iron Works, went to work on a lathe when the strike started for eight hours. Lute, a designer and draughtsman at the Sumner Iron Works, stepped out of the draught room and into the machine shop to run a lathe during the strike.
“George Meyers... is now showing his gratitude by working in the plant against which the machinists are fighting.”
Public naming and shaming of 'scabs' was a potent and common weapon in early 20th-century labor disputes, underscoring the deep social divide created by strikes within the working class itself.
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