1950 Atlanta transit strike
- v
- t
- e
- St. Louis 1900
- Indianapolis 1892
- Los Angeles 1903
- San Francisco 1907
- Pensacola 1908
- Columbus 1910
- Philadelphia 1910
- Indianapolis 1913
- St. John 1914
- Atlanta 1916
- Portland, ME 1916
- Bloomington, IL 1917
- Twin Cities 1917
- Los Angeles 1919
- New Orleans 1920
- Denver 1920
- New Orleans 1929
- 1930s–1970s
- Century Airlines 1932
- Philadelphia 1944
- New York City 1949
- Atlanta 1950
- New York City 1966
- 1980s–2020s
- Greyhound 1983
- New York City 2005
- Toronto 2006
- Toronto 2008
- Lyft and Uber 2019
The Atlanta transit strike of 1950 was a lengthy transit strike that lasted from May 18, 1950, to December 16, 1950, in Atlanta, Georgia.[1][2]
A month after author Margaret Mitchell was struck and killed by a taxi during a year when trolleys had killed five, there was a call in the city to increase safety on city streets. The city council passed an ordinance which required all cab and trolley drivers to apply for a permit.
It required a $5 fee and a fingerprint which was the only method at the time to trace criminal records.
The fingerprinting in particular was fought by Jesse Walton, president of Amalgamated Street Car Local 732, first in court cases which losses he appealed up to the United States Supreme Court (who declined to hear).
Still not willing to comply, Walton called for a strike which began on May 18, 1950.
Police Chief Herbert Jenkins suspended all force vacations to staff downtown intersections all day long to handle the great increase in automobile traffic.
Mayor William Hartsfield called for legalized jitneys (which required a similar permit) to help reduce some of the traffic.
The strike was to last 37 days and as Hartsfield's law was written, jitney permits were immediately revoked.
The union voted to get permits on November 16, 1950, and found themselves working for a new company, the Atlanta Transit Company, as the former transit operator in Atlanta, Georgia Power, used this opportunity to get out of the transit business.
References
This article related to a strike action or other labor dispute is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e