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East Texas
Labor Union
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Brotherhood
of Timber Workers
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Archie P. McDonald |
Those
engaged in a common activity often refer to themselves as “brothers”
or “sisters,” but the Brotherhood of Timber Workers refers to something
rare in East Texas — a
labor union.
Actually, the Brotherhood was organized in Louisiana, but it also
attempted to enroll timber workers in East Texas and one of its fiercest
foes, John Henry Kirby,
operated in both states and lived in East
Texas.
The Brotherhood’s membership came from the sawmills of both regions,
plus poor farmers who did extra work in the mills to supplement their
incomes. As the first cuttings began to thin the virgin forests, work
became scarce and paydays sporadic, yet rents and other prices in
company towns remained steady or increased.
Hoping to insure employment and improve working conditions through
collective bargaining, Arther Lee Emerson and Jay Smith organized
the Brotherhood of Timber Workers in 1910. Mill owners had organized
the Southern Lumber Operators Association in 1906, mostly to combat
any attempt at collective bargaining.
Delegates from BTW locals met in Alexandria, Louisiana, agreed to
accept black members if only to prevent them being used as “scabs,”
and announced their intention to work only under union contracts.
The Operator’s Association called the BTW a socialist organization,
insisted on their workers signing “yellow-dog” contracts renouncing
unions on pain of dismissal, and vowed closure of any mills “infected”
by unionism.
C.B. Sweet, of the Long-Bell mills, decided against honoring the Operator’s
Association and signed a contract with the BTW, but John
Henry Kirby and other operators were true to their word. They
closed mills, or fired employees who joined the union and replaced
them with non-union laborers, and hired security personnel — really
strong-arm agents to knock heads while protecting the mills.
In 1912, Emerson led the BTW into the International Workers of the
World, which seemed to confirm the Operator’s accusation that the
union was socialistic, perhaps communistic.
This produced more rallies and confrontations between union members
and security guards, and one in Graybow, Louisiana, resulted in the
death of eight people and the wounding of forty more. Emerson and
other union officials were arrested and tried. Though they were acquitted,
their defense cost the BTW most of its funds and the union ceased
to exist. |
© Archie P. McDonald
All
Things Historical
January 16, 2006 column
A syndicated column in over 40 East Texas newspapers
This column is provided as a public service by the East Texas Historical
Association. Archie P. McDonald is director of the Association and
author of more than 20 books on Texas. |
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