Saint Louis Streetcar Strike of 1900
Between 1895 and 1930, streetcar strikes occurred in nearly every American city which operated a street railway system. Streetcar strikes were notoriously violent due to the nature of a streetcar system, which was spread across a wide area, with company property exposed and difficult to protect. Streetcars were necessary in emerging cities to get workers in all industries from their homes to their places of employment, thus significant leverage could be had by striking workers looking to garner sympathy for their position.
In 1899 the ten competing streetcar systems in Saint Louis were combined into two systems, both of which worker’s attempted to unionize under the Amalgamated Street Railway Employees of America. The Saint Louis Transit Company, the larger of the two systems, responded by firing its more than 3,000 workers, which were replaced by about 1,000 volunteer workers from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. The displaced workers established picket lines and appealed to unions in other industries for support.
On May 9, 1900 the strikers and sympathetic supporters rioted in several locations around the city, attacking policemen and bystanders, with several shootings and at least one attempted lynching. Members of other labor unions in the city, while not actually striking, supported the strike by blocking streetcar lines. Police and anti-union supporters responded with gunfire, including firing into buildings where striking streetcar employees were gathered from passing cars.
More than 2,500 people were sworn as deputies by the Metropolitan Police, and random violence and shootings across the city increased. By mid-July the Saint Louis Transit Company agreed to allow the fired workers to return to work and promised not to impede unionization, it withdrew from honoring both promises by the end of the summer.
The Saint Louis Streetcar strike came to an end by the end of August, 1900, with nothing having been gained by the striking workers. The aftermath of the strike helped to reveal and remove corruption within the halls of the city government, but few were prosecuted for any crimes relating to the violence of the strike. At least 14 died and well over 200 were injured as a result of the strike.