ABSTRACT
In an article published in 1954, Clark Kerr and Abraham Siegel argued the importance of local conditions in determining the propensity to strike. Picking up on that theme, labor historians have further emphasized the impact of local conditions on labor consciousness and struggles. Labor organizations in the industrial centers were apt to be localized. Locals of national organizations had little connection with the national unions. Local conditions along with local consciousness determined the direction that labor organizations took, and when local rank-and-file interests conflicted with national directives, local secessions often resulted. In examining a strike of little national significance, that of leather workers in the city of Lynn, Massachusetts, the chapter looks at how the workers viewed their environment and attempted to deal with the tactics of the manufacturers within the context of an industrial community. It shows how the workers rallied their community of fellow workers to fight against the companies.
