Lawrence Textile Strikes
The Lawrence Textile Strikes were a series of labor actions in the garment and textile industries in the American Northeast from 1909 to 1913. Most participants were immigrant workers from southern and eastern Europe. Inside the movements, clashes over class, race, gender, and skill created tensions and led some reform-minded thinkers to doubt their effectiveness.
A turning point came in 1912 with the Lawrence Textile Strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, where workers won higher wages from mill owners. The victory helped rally support from left-leaning intellectuals.
In 1913, the Paterson Silk Strike—also known as the Lawrence Textile Strike of 1913—took place in Paterson, New Jersey, as silk mill workers walked off the job.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 06:28 (CET).