The Voice Of Southern Labor Chapter Summary

Introduction
In the book, The Voice of Southern Labor, authors Vincent J. Roscigno and William F. Danaher, address and examine the southern textile-worker mobilization that occurred in the late 1920s through the mid 1930s. The Voice of Southern Labor chronicles the lives and experiences of southern textile-workers as well as provides insight on workers grievances and solidarity that were often portrayed through music. “It was on Labor Day in 1934 that I witnessed the closest thing that this country has had to a revolution. The General Textile Strike was one of the largest strikes in American history; it was the culmination of homegrown organizing and protest. For man southern workers it was the first time they had raised their voices as citizens

Mill hands decided to take it upon themselves to address their grievances just as unions had nearly given up on southern organizing. One major social issue discussed throughout the book was the dispute over low wages and long work hours. Most adult mill workers were working twelve-hour days Sunday through Friday and five-hour days on Saturdays. The workers were receiving low pay, usually between twenty and twenty-five cents an hour without any breaks. The jobs of mill workers usually mandated workers to stand for the entire shift and if they had to eat, they did it while working. These long hours and low wages were not the only social issues most mill workers

The heat and noise that was encountered, combined with scarce nutrition took a toll on many mill workers. There were problems with cotton dust in the rooms, while workers were unaware of the consequence of breathing this dust, it lead to the beginnings of brown lung disease. These conditions affected mill workers both physically and psychologically, but they had to keep working. Another major social issue seen throughout the South was the introduction of the “stretch-out”. Mill owners responded to the National Industrial Recovery Act signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, by intensifying scientific management techniques. This was a system where mill workers were forced to work increasing numbers of machines. A worker recalls the stretch-out process stating, “And they give you about twice as much as you can do, you know. Like this other man give you forty looms, why, he’ll say, I’ll give you forty-four” (Roscigno & William, 2004). The stretch-out caused mill workers to write to Roosevelt, informing him of what was happening in hopes that he would act on the people’s behalf. These social issues derive from the paternalistic practices that occur throughout mill towns. Mill workers feel that the companies own and control their lives, which is where these social issues and grievances