Fort Leavenworth Prison Strike (1919)
Wed Jan 29, 1919
On this day in 1919, 150 workers at Fort Leavenworth Prison stopped their assigned work in the middle of the day, beginning a labor strike that would quickly grow to more than 2,000 strong over the next few days and win reforms.
The same night, three prisoners started a fire and burned parts of the quartermaster's warehouse, causing $100,000 of damage, although it's unclear whether this was part of the labor action.
Although the initial group of prisoners were not settled on specific demands, 2,300 workers who went on strike the next day spent their day organizing, setting up committees and electing leaders from each wing of the prison. Out of this organization came a drafted a list of demands, including the immediate release of military prisoners, immunity from punishment for all men who had participated in the strike, and establishing a permanent grievance committee.
The strike was successful. Over the next few months, many improvements were made: committee members replaced some of the prison guards; prisoners were given charge of discipline in the kitchen, mess hall, and yard; meat, poultry, butter, and eggs came from a farm from inside the prison; new bathrooms were built; prison officials gave five members of the Prisoners Committee adjudication powers for fellow prisoners accused of breaking basic prison rules.
- Date: 1919-01-29
- Learn More: nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu, libcom.org.
- Tags: #Labor.
- Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org