Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 December 2008
This article examines the ways in which unionization impacted upon race relations in Chicago's meatpacking industry. It focuses upon a period when a dynamic working-class movement sought to overcome barriers imposed by a hierarchical job structure and reinforced by ethnic and racial divisions. The movement drew its strength from several sources. The support of the Chicago Federation of Labor threw the resources of a powerful local movement behind the campaign and encouraged the emergence of new, inclusive, forms of organization. The existence of shop-floor organizations further augmented the movement's power. Finally, the intervention of the government, in the form of binding arbitration, led to dramatic improvements in wages and conditions which helped the movement consolidate its position. Although these gains were undone and the movement destroyed, the union campaign transformed racial and class experiences in the stockyards.
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