D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections and University Archives

1929 Marion Labor Strike Scrapbook
M2013.02

Summary Information

Repository
UNC Asheville Special Collections and University Archives
Title
1929 Marion Labor Strike Scrapbook
ID
M2013.02
Date [bulk]
Bulk, 1929
Date [inclusive]
1929-2011
Extent
2.0 Linear feet
Location
Located in Special Collections, Row 4, Shelf 5
Language
English

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item] 1929 Marion Labor Strike Scrapbook, D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, 28804

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Historical Note

In 1929, textile mill strikes broke out across the American South as workers spoke out against low pay, poor working conditions, and general mistreatment by employers. Strikes occurred in Elizabethton, TN, Greenville, SC, and Gastonia, NC. In May 1929 workers at the Marion Manufacturing plant in Marion, NC, began to organize after they were ordered to work additional time without pay. Tensions escalated, and on October 2, 1929, a conflict erupted between strikers and law enforcement officials that resulted in the deaths of six mill workers. Dozens of other workers were wounded. The event made front page news across the United States. This scrapbook contains newspaper clippings from 1929 that document the events leading to and after the October deaths.

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Scope and Contents

This collection consists of a blue spiral bound notebook containing newspaper clippings collected by Ruth Greenlee of Marion, North Carolina. Approximately 2 inches thick, the notebook contains pages with newspaper clippings glued onto pages. The majority of the clippings document the strike at the Marion Manufacturing Company in the summer of 1929.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

UNC Asheville Special Collections and University Archives

Ramsey Library, CPO # 1500
One University Heights
Asheville, North Carolina, 28804-8504
828.251.6645
ghyde@unca.edu

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions. Any display, publication, or public use must credit the D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville. Copyright retained by the authors of certain items in the collection, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law

Custodial History

Donated by Michael Blakenship, Fall 2013.

Processing Information

Processed by Gene Hyde, Fall 2013.

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Related Materials

Related Collections

The Thad Eckard Labor Relations Collection (M2011-09) includes materials on southern mill workers and the 1929 Marion strike

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