Crimmitschauer strike

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The Crimmitschau strike of the textile workers from Crimmitschau in the Kingdom of Saxony lasted from August 1903 to January 1904. The strike or lockout triggered an unprecedented wide-ranging solidarity with the local conflicting parties, both among the organized workers and among employers. Public opinion was clearly on the side of the strikers. The conflict ended in clear defeat for the workers; it had long-term effects on the formation of employers' associations .

Solidarity postcard with striking workers

Background, prehistory

In the 19th century, the population of all industrialized countries grew rapidly. The causes included advances in medicine and hygiene; the infant mortality rate and the woman in labor mortality had declined significantly (see also Demographics of Germany ). As a result, there was a latent or actual oversupply of (young) workers; the job market was, so to speak, a buyer's market . Many (factory) activities could be carried out by semi-skilled workers; these were easily replaceable.

The city of Crimmitschau was a center of the textile industry in the 19th century. Numerous cloth factories, spinning mills and other textile industries gave a large part of the population work. The companies in the city were comparatively small and financially weak. The export market had largely collapsed and in the last two decades before the labor dispute, 40% of the companies had to be closed. The city was a stronghold of free trade unions and social democracy . In the Reichstag election in 1903 , the SPD had more than 50% of the votes in the city. Workers in the local textile industry had struck four times since 1882 for higher wages and better working conditions.

At the turn of the 20th century, working hours in the Saxon textile industry were 11 hours, considerably longer than in comparable companies in Berlin, for example, where working hours of no more than 8 hours were already common. Most of the employees in the Crimmitschau area were female and 40% of all women employed were married. The married workers in particular complained that the long working hours did not leave them enough time for their children and the household. In addition, the speed of the machines was generally increased.

course

Hermann Jackel

This led to the fact that the branch of the (free trade union ) German Textile Workers Association, in coordination with the trade union headquarters, on July 25, 1903, asked the local factory owners association to reduce working hours to 10 hours, increase piece wages by 10% and extend the lunch break 1.5 hours instead of the previous 1 hour. The slogan of the workers in particular was: “One hour for us! One hour for our family! An hour for life! ” Hermann Jäckel played a leading role on the part of the workers .

The manufacturers were ready to partially meet the demands and to cut working hours by half an hour. This was not enough for the workers. After the first strike by 600 workers, workers in five factories resigned on August 20. As a result, on August 21, the factory owners locked out all 7,500–8,000 workers in the city's textile industry. After the lockout had lasted ten weeks, the manufacturers agreed to reinstate the workers under the old conditions. Most of the workers did not respond and held on to the strike. The strikers offered to negotiate with the employers. The employers refused.

Attitude of the authorities

Crimmitschau under the state of siege

The long strike not only affected the local economy of craftsmen and business people, but the failure of the otherwise produced yarn had a negative impact on the German textile industry. There were no riots or riots despite the long duration of the strike. Nevertheless, the authorities and the police were on the employer's side. The authorities took strict action against even harmless harassment of willing workers. There were numerous reports and penalties against strikers. Pickets were arrested. The imposition of the minor state of siege aroused particular resentment . In addition, all gatherings were banned in early December. This also affected the Christmas party planned for the families of those locked out.

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Beyond the town and Saxony, a newspaper article by the local pastor aroused incomprehension, who defended the position of the entrepreneurs and the ban on the Christmas party. The position of the pastor, who was also joined by some of his colleagues in the area, severely damaged the reputation of the Evangelical Church among workers in Saxony. But there were also voices in the clergy who spoke out against a business-friendly attitude.

Nationwide response

The longer the dispute lasted, the more the strike lost its purely local character. It grew into a fundamental dispute between the unionized workers and the employers organized in employers' associations.

Many workers joined the textile workers union during the strike. However, it also became apparent that the textile workers' association had insufficiently prepared the strike. There weren't enough funds to endure a long strike. The locked out were supported by the free trade union and the social democracy. A total of around one million marks in donations were collected for the strikers. Significantly, as in almost all major strikes, the public mood was on the side of the strikers.

Against this background, the entrepreneurs also looked for external support. The local manufacturers were ultimately supported by the Central Association of German Industrialists . After the latter had largely only observed the situation for a long time, he decided to actively intervene on December 16, 1903. He issued an appeal for donations in favor of the companies on strike. This stylized the events in Crimmitschau into a fundamental struggle between trade unions and employers. After that it was a fight: "the entire German social democracy against the entire German employers about the question of power, about the question of whether the employer should be the master of his workshop or the social democratic organization."

Strikers

Although the majority of the strikers remained on strike for more than five months, the number of those willing to work increased, mainly due to the influx of outside parties, so that the strike leadership decided on January 18, 1904 to end the strike and recommended that the workers use the old conditions To resume work. Over 500 strikers found no employment and were expelled.

consequences

Beyond the dispute itself, the entrepreneurs' victory had lasting consequences. In the course of the strike, the entrepreneurs discovered that they no longer dominated the labor market alone. They faced a strong organized labor movement.

The victory strengthened the willingness of employers to form associations. The Central Association of German Industry initiated the establishment of a central office for employers' associations during the strike . An employers' association of the textile industry was founded, which immediately joined the headquarters.

Overall, after the strike, the balance of power between organized labor and capital shifted significantly in favor of employers. In the wake of the strike, employers also systematized their weapons. These have now been used as planned. This included black lists , proof of work , the promotion of economically peaceful associations , lockouts and the payment of strike compensation.

The entrepreneurs equated trade unions and social democrats. They demanded measures from the government to “secure the freedom of work against terrorism of the social democratic trade unions.” The result was the establishment of the Reich Association against Social Democracy .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Achim Knips. German employers' associations in the iron and metal industry. 1888-1914 Stuttgart, 1996 p. 160
  2. ↑ Andrea Bergler, Patricia Ober. The Pfau textile company in Crimmitschau (1859-990). In: Companies in the regional and local area. Leipzig, 2004 p. 152
  3. ^ Johannes Herz: Crimmitschauer Strike. In: Ludwig Heyde (Hrsg.): International dictionary of trade unions. Bed.1 Berlin, 1931. pp. 323-325
  4. ^ Johannes Herz: Crimmitschauer Strike. In: Ludwig Heyde (Hrsg.): International dictionary of trade unions. Bed.1 Berlin, 1931. pp. 323-325.
  5. ^ Crimmitschau under the state of siege Publisher: Central Association of German Textile Workers. Verlag der Buchhandlung Vorwärts (Th Glocke Berlin) 1903
  6. ↑ Thomas Nipperdey: Reflecting on German History . Essays. Verlag CH Beck, Munich 1986, p. 219.
  7. ^ Hans-Peter Ullmann: Entrepreneurs, employers' associations and strike movement 1890-1914 in: Klaus Tenfelde, Heinrich Volkmann (ed.). Strike. On the history of the labor dispute in Germany during industrialization . Munich 1981, p. 194
  8. ↑ Achim Knips. German employers' associations in the iron and metal industry. 1888-1914 Stuttgart, 1996 p. 162 f.
  9. ↑ Hans-Peter Ullmann: Entrepreneurs, employers' associations and strike movement 1890-1914. In: Klaus Tenfelde, Heinrich Volkmann (eds.). Strike. On the history of the labor dispute in Germany during industrialization. Munich, 1981 p. 197
  10. ↑ Hans-Peter Ullmann: Entrepreneurship, employers' associations and strike movement 1890-1914 In: Klaus Tenfelde, Heinrich Volkmann (ed.). Strike. On the history of the labor dispute in Germany during industrialization. Munich, 1981 p. 199
  11. ↑ Terror, Terrorism In. Historical Basic Concepts Vol. 6 Stuttgart, 1990 p. 401

literature

  • Klaus Schönhoven : The trade unions as a mass movement in the Wilhelminian Empire 1890 to 1918. In: Ulrich Borsdorf (Hrsg.): History of the German trade unions. From the beginning until 1945. Cologne 1987, p. 220
  • Lassotta, Arnold et al. (Ed.): Strike: Crimmitschau 1903 - Bocholt 1913. A reader on the labor disputes in the Crimmitschau and Bocholt textile industries on the occasion of the exhibition of the same name. Essen 1993
  • Hans-Peter Ullmann : Entrepreneurs, employers' associations and strike movement 1890-1914 In: Klaus Tenfelde , Heinrich Volkmann (ed.). Strike. On the history of the labor dispute in Germany during industrialization. Munich, 1981 pp. 194-208
  • Johannes Herz: Crimmitschauer strike. In: Ludwig Heyde (Hrsg.): International dictionary of trade unions. Bed.1 Berlin, 1931. pp. 323-325. Electronic ed .: Bonn: FES Library, 2009
  • Erwin Friedrich-Erbisdorff: The fight for the ten-hour day in the Pleißental , in: Sächsische Heimat, Issue 5, May 1979, pp. 133-146

Web links

Wikisource: Poem by Rudolf Lavant on the Crimmitschauer strike  - sources and full texts
  • Poem by Rudolf Lavant on the Crimmitschauer strike, in: Leipziger Volkszeitung from December 12, 1903, title: Crimmitschau
  • Poem by Rudolf Lavant about the Crimmitschau strike, title: Des Kampfes Ende , in: Der Wahre Jacob, 1904, No. 458, p. 4269 Digitalized, UB Heidelberg