1906 : Builders Strike Set to be the "Biggest Battle in the History of the City"

The La Crosse Builders Association first formed as the effects of the Teamsters’ Strike of 1905 in Chicago began rippling through the country. From bakers to newspaper typographers to telephone operators, owners weighed whether they would hire strictly union and/or non-union employees. Even U.S. President Roosevelt declared the government printing office an “open shop” in August 1906. The term “Open Shop” came to represent the hiring of both union and non-union employees. The La Crosse Tribune for several years contains numerous companies declaring themselves as “open shop.”

The dispute over unionization landing in La Crosse in the construction industry in 1905. The plumbers first discussed an open shop and the creation of a Master Plumbers Association to oppose to the trades union movement.  In part due to fear of an open shop policy and in demand of half-holiday pay and extra pay for irregular calls, a strike ensued on May 16, 1906 (read more >>) with owners declaring they will run their own shops >>.

Meanwhile, starting in March 1906, the building contractors took a much stronger anti-union stand, citing “unjust demands”. They formed an early version of the La Crosse Builders Association in 1906. The article goes on to talk about “the question of hours and rate is a question which the contractors’ association does not take up, that matter being left to the contractors in the several branches to settle with their men as they see fit, as has heretofore been the custom.”

The group created an “Open Shop” document signed by all but the bricklayers union that stated the builders would hire “union and non-union men.” Yet, workers seemed not to like the agreement. A large group of businesses placed a full-page ad in The La Crosse Tribune & Leader-Press on April 18, 1920, formally supporting the Open Shop Principle (see below).

Of Interest: Fights Over Eight Hour Days

A 1905 article in the La Crosse Tribune (read more >>) discusses the International Typographical Union defeating attempts to create an eight-hour work day.