"Protocol of Peace." September 2, 1910. Rare documents file and Louis Marshall Papers (MS-359), American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio.

The "Protocol of Peace" & the "Industrial Revolution" of American Labor Relations

On 2 September 1910, the New York City cloakmakers' strike ended with the signing of an agreement known as the "Protocol of Peace," thereby ushering in a new era of industrial labor relations. The work stoppage began on 7 July 1910 when over 50,000 needleworkers belonging to the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) called a general strike against all New York City shirtwaist manufacturers. The strikers protested horrific working conditions, low wages, and demanded the implementation of the "closed shop," requiring union membership as a perquisite for hiring. The strike was spearheaded by a group of Jewish labor organizers, including Samuel Gompers (1850-1924), the founder of the American Federation of Labor, Meyer London (1871-1926), an attorney and future Socialist Party congressman, and the "King of the Cloakmakers" Joseph Barondess (1867-1928), who was the head of the ILGWU and a future founder of the American Jewish Congress.

The ILGWU and the garment manufacturers, who had also organized and created their own trade group, the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Protective Association, contacted future U.S. Supreme Court Justice and prominent lawyer Louis Brandeis (1856-1941) to act as an intermediary during negotiations. Brandeis was instrumental in making significant progress towards a successful compromise between labor and management. However, by the time the negotiations were finalized, famed Jewish lawyer Louis Marshall (1856-1929) took over as the head mediator. Marshall infused many of Brandeis's ideas into a final agreement between the two sides and gave the "Protocol of Peace" its name.

The "Protocol of Peace," as summarized by historian Richard A. Greenwald, was "revolutionary because it went beyond hours and wages to the heart of the problems facing industrial America: democracy in the workplace." Perhaps the most innovative elements of the agreement were the formation of a Joint Board of Sanitary Control, a committee comprised of both union and manufacturer representatives who would oversee working conditions and details surrounding the creation of the "preferential shop." This "shop" included a ban on all strikes and lockouts and required manufacturers to hire union workers who were of equal quality and skill in comparison to any non-union applicants. The "preferential shop" was a compromise between union leaders, who wanted a work force comprised completely of union members, and employers, who did not want their management decisions dictated by the threat of a strike, engineered by Brandeis, which encouraged both fairer treatment of workers by manufacturers and an increased sense of ownership and responsibility among union members. The "Protocol" also included the establishment of arbitration boards, which included members of unions, manufacturers, and neutral third parties to settle labor disputes.

Interestingly, the "Protocol" was largely crafted by Jews on both sides of the bargaining table: organized labor, whose workers were about seventy percent Jewish, and the manufacturers, who were a majority Jewish group themselves. Although the cause of organized labor had been furthered by the "Protocol," much progress with regard to labor relations and workplace conditions still needed to be made.


A copy of the entire "Protocol of Peace" is available in PDF format through the "Download Image" link above.