My friends, it is solidarity of labor we want.
We do not want to find fault with each other,
but to solidify our forces and say to each other:
"We must be together; our masters are joined together
and we must do the same thing."
-Mother Jones
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Wednesday June 14, 1905
From The Broad Ax: "The Teamsters' Strike Seems to be Fizzling Out."
The Broad Ax, an Afro-American newspaper of Chicago edited by Julius F. Taylor, recently reported that the Teamsters' strike in that city appeared to be "fizzling out."
From The Broad Ax of June 3rd:
The Teamsters' Strike
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Seems to be Fizzling Out.
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From the beginning of the great teamsters' strike, which seems to be fizzling out, down to the present time, everything which has appeared in these columns in reference to Marshall Field & Company, Mandel Bros., and the head officials of the Employers' Teaming Co., had no further use for the Negroes, they induced to come here from the far South and other sections of the country except to use them like so many slaves, as strikebreakers, for the Secretary of Employers' Teaming Company was the first among his Negro hating associates to formulate plans to dispense with the services of the colored men whom they had promised steady work and good wages, and even today before the strike has been finally settled it is a rare thing to see a colored man driving a team through the streets belonging to those firms whose regular drivers are on a strike.
Marshall Field and Mandel Bros., were the first to discharge their colored drivers who they regarded a their slaves for the time being and their places have been filled with white men and many of them are hard-looking characters.
Many other concerns who at the beginning of the teamsters' strike were glad to avail themselves of the services of the colored drivers were quick to follow suit, and in a short space of time the sentiment has become so strong against permitting the Negro to have anything more to do with the present strike, that the first of this week, none of the strike-bound firms would employ one Negro, and the white drivers for A. M. Rothschild and Company, refused to set in the same seats on the wagons with colored policemen, this race prejudice protest on the part of the drivers for Rothschild and Company, was hailed with delight by the drivers for other firms, and on Monday the lumber merchants in the lumber district on the west side, sent their solemn protest, and a long petition to Chief O'Neill, against sending colored policemen into their district for the purpose of guarding their property.
The actions of the lumber merchants in this respect should have been or ought to be treated with the greatest contempt by Mayor Dunne and Chief O'Neill, for as long as the city is willing to furnish police to them to prevent their property from being destroyed by mobs, they have no moral right to dictate to its authorities whom to send or whom not to send for such purposes, as long as the men discharge their sworn duty, and the color of their skin or nationality should cut no figure whatever.
There is no desire on our part to discourage any citizen from doing his duty in times of trouble but for our part we would prefer to be shot down like a common traitor rather than permit ourself to raise our little finger to protect the property of any citizen or individual who are always ready and willing to foster and manufacture race prejudice, at the expense of any race of people.
In the past our sympathies have been with the striking teamsters, but as long as they and their followers will persist in waging an unholy warfare upon those who have never harmed them in the slightest degree, it is time to call a halt and it is the duty of all law abiding citizens to array themselves on the side of law and order.
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