Mohawk Valley Formula

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The Mohawk Valley Formula is a method for breaking strikes and in 1936 by James Rand, the owner of the Remington Rand Corporation in 1937 where in Johnstown ( Pennsylvania applied successfully broken) Steelworkers strike.

The method was published shortly after the strike in the form of an article in the Labor Relations Bulletin of the National Association of Manufacturers .

Elements of the formula

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  1. If there is a risk of a strike, brand all union leaders as troublemakers in order to publicly discredit them and their followers. Have a compulsory election under the supervision of the factory supervisors to determine the strength of the union and allow the strikers to be misrepresented as a small minority. Use the press and advertisements to spread propaganda falsified claims by strikers so that their claims appear arbitrary and the real claims remain in the dark.
  2. At the same time, exert economic pressure by threatening to relocate. Form an anti-strike cohesive group of influential community members when practicable. For this purpose, preferentially select representatives from banks, property owners and business people and designate the group as a citizens' committee.
  3. When the strike is called, stress the importance of law and order so that society bundles judicial and police weapons against the purely imaginary acts of violence, which will suppress all civil liberties of the strikers.
  4. Organize a mass event to coordinate public sentiment against the strike and strengthen the 'citizens' committee.
  5. Assemble large numbers of armed police forces to psychologically intimidate the strikers. Use local and state police units, the vigilante group and “special deputies” if possible from a distant neighborhood. Instruct deputies and vigilante groups in the laws on illegal gatherings, rioting, and misconduct. Scare them and get them ready to use their newfound authority to the limit.
  6. Increase the demoralizing effect of the above means by setting up a "back-to-work" movement, controlled by a straw puppet organization of so-called loyal employees, which are organized secretly by the employer.
  7. If there is a sufficient number of requests to resume work, announce a date for the resumption of production, naturally with reference to the demands of the "back-to-work" movement.
  8. Make the reopening of the work as theatrical as possible.
  9. Use the demoralization of the strikers, gained through the constant presence of police units and pressure from the citizens' committees, to ensure that workers who have already returned to work can continue working and to force the remaining strikers to give up. If necessary, transform the place into a war-like state by declaring a state of emergency. Isolate the company from the outside world in order to exclude any external interference with the effectiveness of the "formula".
  10. End public protests by announcing the resumption of production and declare the strikers a minority opposed to the right to work. This can end the campaign - the employer broke the strike.

See also

literature

  • Robert G. Rodden: The Fighting Machinists, A Century Of Struggle. Kelly Press, Washington DC n.d. [1984].

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Benjamin Stolberg: Vigilantism, 1937 ( Memento of the original from July 20, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / newdeal.feri.org archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The Nation, August 14, 1937, Vol. 145, No. 7, pp. 166-168