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Cast Brass Seal of the Petersburg Benevolent Mechanic Association

The Petersburg Benevolent Mechanic Association, founded 1825, was a fraternal group with some of the attributes of a union. It was open to all skilled and unskilled white men who worked with their hands in a wide range of crafts.

Credit: Courtesy of the Virginia Historical Society, Gift of the family of Edward A. Wyatt, IV, 1985.4

Photograph of Virginia Passenger and Power Co. Streetcars

A 1903 strike against Virginia Passenger and Power Co., operator of the Richmond and Petersburg streetcar lines, was supported by much of the community. The strike lasted two months and became so violent that the National Guard was called out to protect persons and property, while streetcars continued to run with the aid of strikebreakers. Militiamen guarded the company offices at 7th and Main streets in Richmond (seen on the left in the image), while half a dozen rode the open car leading the line on Seventh Street. Strikers ultimately failed in their efforts to win better pay and hours.

Credit: Courtesy of the Virginia Historical Society, 2005.0138

Samuel Gompers Speaks at the Jamestown Exposition, Labor Day, 1907

Organized labor was a builder, exhibitor, and presenter at the 1907 Jamestown Exposition in Norfolk. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) exhibition in the social economy building was large and very well attended. This image, taken from “the official blue book of the Jamestown Ter-centennial Exposition, A.D. 1907: the only authorized history of the celebration,” shows Samuel Gompers, head of the AFL in 1907, speaking to a crowd.

Credit: Copyright Jamestown Official Photograph Corporation, Courtesy of the Virginia Historical Society, T648.B1.A5.c4.os.260

A young spooler in Roanoke Cotton Mills, 1911

At the 1907 Jamestown Exposition, a display by the National Child Labor Committee evoked much response. Virginia laws to regulate child labor were first passed in 1889–90 and then revised in 1902–4, 1908, and 1912–20. This photograph, taken by Lewis W. Hine in May 1911, shows a young girl in a Roanoke Cotton Mill. Hine used his camera as a tool for social reform and his photographs were instrumental in changing the child labor laws in the U.S.

Credit: Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-nclc-02146

Delegate badge, 1922 Virginia Federation of Labor Convention

This 1.75-inch round badge features blue lettering on a white background with a multicolor seal of Virginia in center. It reads "27th Annual Convention, Virginia Federation of Labor" above the seal and "April 3-4-5, 1922, Bristol, VA." below the seal. Suspended from the oval badge is the inscribed word "Delegate."

Credit: Courtesy of the Virginia Historical Society, 2002.148.6

1884 Photograph of the Williams & Rehling Tobacco Stemmery

Stemmeries were tobacco factories that prepared leaf. They mostly employed African American women. In 1937 the female workforce walked out over low wages and long hours. This 1884 photograph shows an unidentified group of African American workers at the Williams & Rehling factory located at 310 S. 10th Street in Richmond.

Credit: Cook Collection, Valentine Richmond History Center

20th Century “Join the Union” Card

Nationwide, union membership was low in the first years that labor was organized because the early unions were loosely organized, some were run by socialists and anarchists, and many were linked to immigrant laborers and their use of violence. In 1900, only 1 in 12 workers had joined a union. Cards handed out in the workplace, like this example whose exact date and place of origin in Virginia unknown, and posters placed there helped the recruiting process.

Credit: Courtesy of the Virginia Historical Society, 2002.20.805