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The Indianapolis streetcar strike of 1913 and the subsequent police mutiny and riots was a breakdown in public order in Indianapolis, Indiana. The events began as a workers strike by the union employees of the Indianapolis Traction & Terminal Company and their allies on Halloween night, October 31, 1913. The company was responsible for public transportation in Indianapolis, the capital city and transportation hub of the U.S. State of Indiana. The unionization effort was being organized by the Amalgamated Street Railway Employees of America who had successfully enforced strikes in other major United States cities. Company management suppressed the initial attempt by some of its employees to unionize and rejected an offer of mediation by the United States Department of Labor, which led to a rapid rise in tensions, and ultimately the strike. Government response to the strike was politically charged, as the strike began during the week leading up to public elections. The strike effectively shut down mass transit in the city and caused severe interruptions of statewide rail transportation and the 1913 city elections. A riot that lasted four days broke out on November 2 when strikebreakers attempted to restart transit services. At its height, eight to ten thousand rioters flooded downtown Indianapolis and vandalized the city's main business district. Numerous workers, strikebreakers, policemen, and bystanders were injured. Two strikebreakers and four union members were killed. The city police were unable to control the situation and refused orders to combat the rioters as the violence worsened. After pleas for help from city leaders following continued rioting on Election Day, Governor Samuel Ralston called out the Indiana National Guard and put the city under martial law on the evening of November 5. On November 6, an angry crowd surrounded the Indiana Statehouse, listed their grievances, demanded the military leave the city, and threatened more violence if their demands were not met. Ralston addressed the crowd to promise concessions if the workers would return to work. His speech was credited by the press with ending the strike. After three days of peace, the military withdrew from the city. The Indiana General Assembly met later that month and enacted Indiana's first minimum wage laws, regular working hours, workplace safety requirements, and began projects to improve the city's tenement slums. Arbitration between the company and its employees by the Indiana Public Service Commission resulted in a decision mostly favoring the company. The employees were permitted to unionize, guaranteed wage increases, a minimum monthly salary, and certain days off work. The company, however, was permitted to continue hiring non-union employees and to bar union membership solicitation on the company's property. ==Background== Beginning with the rapid industrial growth that began in Indiana during the gas boom of the late 19th-century, labor unions began to form with goals of increasing wages and providing other benefits to workers through collective bargaining. The Indianapolis Traction and Terminal Company was founded to own and operate the streetcar terminal in downtown Indianapolis, and operate the Indianapolis Street Railway under a lease agreement for a term of 31 years. In 1892 the employees of Indianapolis Traction and Terminal Company launched a short-lived strike. The company was the primary public transportation provider in Indianapolis and operated the central transportation hub for the city of Indianapolis and state of Indiana. The company offered small concessions, and the workers returned to work without unionizing. Leaders of AASEREA continued a campaign to unionize public transportation companies in American cities. The Indianapolis Street Railway Company, a smaller transportation company, did unionize in 1899 when its employees became part of the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees of America (AASEREA).〔 After a series of successful AASEREA supported strikes, the latest in Cincinnati, Ohio during May 1913, the union leaders turned their attention back to Indianapolis.〔〔 John J. Thorpe, vice president of AASEREA led the renewed unionization effort, and he and a group of men traveled to Indianapolis. Drawing support from union employees of the Indianapolis Street Railway Company, Thorpe began a campaign to unionize the employees of the Traction and Terminal Company in August 1913.〔Electric Railway Journal, p. 1018〕 The 900 non-union employees of the Traction and Terminal Company were generally paid much less and worked longer hours than the union workers of the smaller transportation company, and Thorpe considered them to be a prime target for the union organizing attempt.〔Bodenhamer, p. 1304〕 A committee, headed by Thorpe, was established to recruit employees and headquartered itself at Labor Hall. Throughout September and October, many employees began to join the union, but the Terminal and Traction Company responded by firing employees who joined and refused to recognize the union.〔International Molders' and Foundry Workers' Union, p. 1045〕 After the failure of their initial attempt to have the union recognized by the company, the committee petitioned the United States Department of Labor to mediate discussions between them and the management of the business. On October 27, 1913, the department offered Ethelbert Stewart, head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to mediate. To begin negotiations, the workers' committee submitted a list of grievances to the company and Stewart.〔 The company, however, refused his services, denied there was a labor problem and said no attempt at unionizing was being made. They insisted that only a small minority of workers were behind the troubles and alleged that it was outside influences behind the unionizing effort.〔 In a later report, the Department of Labor claimed that had their offer of mediation been accepted, the subsequent strike and riot could have been averted.〔United States Department of Labor, p. 18〕 The company feared the unionization attempt and hired labor spies to follow the union leaders and determine their plans.〔 The company leadership thought the AASEREA's demands were unreasonable, and believed it to be unfair for the employees' wages to exceed the income the business provided its shareholders.〔 The union men discovered the spies and attacked and injured them. This began a rapid rise in tensions. Less than half of the company's employees had joined the AASEREA, denying Thorpe's committee enough support from the company's employees to enforce a strike. The AASEREA instead sought assistance from other Indianapolis unions.〔 On October 30, a letter signed by Thorpe and other members of the committee was sent to Robert L. Todd, President of the Traction and Terminal Company. In the letter he made a series of demands, including wage increases, reduced work hours, and the reinstatement of men fired for joining the union. The committee informed the company that the demands had to be met if a strike was to be averted.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Indianapolis streetcar strike of 1913」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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