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Advertisement from Perry's Chamber of Commerce warns that a strike at the Perry Knitting Co. will disrupt economic stability for the entire town. At the time of this advertisement, the CIO was successfully unionizing Elam Shoe Co. and the Quality Wood Heel Co. in Rochester, and "continued growth in number of Perry Knitting Mills workers who have signed with the plant CIO unit" (<em>Rochester Democrat & Chronicle</em> 4 April 1937: 21). <br /><br />The company probably was alarmed at momentum in this direction, and undertook at least two tactics. One was to make visible employee support for a non-union shop, leading to a Loyalty Parade two months later. The other was to widen the scope of influence, arguing that economic disruptions--however bad they were in large cities--were "infinitely worse" in a small town like Perry. "The affect EVERY CITIZEN," warns the Chamber of Commerce. Thus, labor issues at the plant are shown to intertwine with an entire community.
<em>Perry Record</em> 1 April 1937<br /><br />Henry Page Historical Documents
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The four photographs here partially document a tense confrontation, during 1937, between the Perry Knitting Co. management and the Textile Workers Organizing Committee of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). Like any other factory, worker concerns over safety, wages, and job stability ran into management concerns over profitability and authority. For example, in 1917 more than 250 Polish workers at PKC had gone on strike, leading to an escalating conflict and arrests. <br /><br />The CIO's drive for unionization was much larger; one rally near the Perry Knitting Co. drew an estimated 1,200 people. Against this backdrop the Loyalty Parade should be seen as tactical, a public mobilization to show that workers were happy with the status quo. As the <em>Perry Herald</em> wrote, "In one of the most spontaneous demonstrations of civic spirit ever seen in this section more than 900 employees of the Perry Knitting Co., late yesterday afternoon staged a loyalty parade, prompted by the parade in the morning when less than100 new members of the CIO marched in the vicinity of the mill" (9 June 1937: 1). While its spontaneousness may be doubted--given the matching hats and nicely printed placards--the parade ultimately proved effective.<br /><br />The photographs also document Perry's Main Street at a moment in time. The names and marketing signs of many businesses are visible. At the Auditorium Theater, a double bill of <em>Call It a Day</em> and <em>Turn Off the Moon</em> is playing. A number of curious spectators each think their thoughts. And the parade's marching formation, by work units like "Spinning Room" and "Box Shop," suggest the wrenching decisions individuals faced between loyalty to immediate co-workers and a proposed solidarity of labor. The company may have been valued for providing jobs, but it's questionable whether it could have mobilized such strong feelings.
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var str = 'Probably circulated during an unsuccessful unionizing drive at the Perry Knitting Co. in 1937, this flyer is addressed not only to employees but the larger Perry community. The Textile Workers Organizing Committee ask, rhetorically, why the Perry Chamber of Commerce suddenly has the workers\' welfare in mind. It reminds its reader that labor organization is a right, that others will benefit from better working standards, and that the CIO will help protect workers\' jobs. This last point was an especially charged issue, for employees sometimes were laid off without notice when business was slow, and management warned that unionization might lead to the company closing its doors.';
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Textile Workers Organizing Committee of the C.I.O.
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var str = 'This single-side document probably dates to a 1937 effort to unionize the Perry Knitting Co. employees. The Textile Workers Organizing Committee met considerable resistance from company management and some employees, who staged a \"Loyalty Parade\" against unionization.
The text of this flyer reminds the company that \"interference with union organization is illegal under U.S. code,\" going on to cite the relevant statute under the Nation Labor Relations Act. Even during the comparatively progressive 1930s, however, enforcing the law proved difficult and ultimately the PKC employees voted against organizing.';
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Textile Workers Organizing Committee of the C.I.O.
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