Streetcar operators' strike
A violent labor strike was staged in Pensacola from April 7–May 13, 1908 by streetcar operators employed by the Pensacola Electric Company. The strike resulted in several deaths and caused the Governor of Florida to order the State militia into Pensacola.
On April 7, streetcar operators working for the Pensacola Electric Company, the operator of Pensacola's electric streetcar transit system, went on strike. On April 12, Florida Governor Napoleon B. Broward ordered the State militia into Pensacola to protect strikebreakers and restore order. The city remained calm for about one week until April 21, when a mob attacked a streetcar and fatally wounded the conductor, a G. Hoffman. Stenographer W. L. Wittich, Jr. was also fired upon while boarding a streetcar.
Images
State militia camping in the median of Palafox Street
State militia outside the Old Escambia County Courthouse
State militia escorting strikebreakers
State militia posing on the steps of the Federal Customs House & Post Office
Mounted state militia patrol during strike
"The Last Capture"
References
- "Troops Sent to Pensacola.; Electric Cars Will Be Started To-day Despite the Strike." New York Times, April 13, 1908.
- "Pensacola Riots Renewed.; Strikers' Mob Attacks Street Car and Fatally Wounds Conductor." New York Times, April 22, 1908.
