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Philadelphia Transit Strike of 1944

African Americans protesting against the Philadelphia Transportation Company’s policy of not hiring black motormen or conductors.
James Stewart is the first African American motorman. William Poisell instructs Stewart on how to operate a trolley car.
Soldiers ride at the front of a trolley. The soldiers have been sent to patrol the P.T.C. strike.
Former musician James Stewart is trained by William Poisell. Stewart is the first African American to be trained as an operator of trolley cars.
A rider peruses the order, previously hung by Major Edward J. Vinnicombe in 69th Street Terminal, declaring that the War Department of the United States of America has taken possession of vehicles. The directive, written by Philip Hayes, is an order from President Roosevelt.

What’s the story?

Philadelphia Transit Strike of 1944 documents the events leading up to and including the August 1944, strike that threatened both employment opportunities for black Philadelphians and World War II war production. Local authorities worked to preserve order, while resolution of the strike required intervention by federal troops.

During World War II, the Philadelphia Transit Company was one of the largest transit systems in the country, serving approximately 2,500,000 passengers per day. In August 1944, in the midst of the war, Philadelphia was also the country’s third largest war production city. Just two months after the D-Day landings on the northern coast of France, when American unity abroad and at home was most crucial, hundreds of Philadelphia Transit Company employees went on strike to protest the promotion of eight black PTC employees to the position of trolley car driver. Strikers refused to go to work, and all scheduled transportation runs were at a standstill. By the end of August 1, the first day of the strike, 300,000 war workers who relied on the Philadelphia Transit Company had not been able get to work, and war production was seriously diminished.

After several days of crippled war production and racial violence, the strike ended when President Roosevelt authorized federal troops to enter the city of Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Transit Company Strike of 1944 began as a racially motivated strike on the local level, but quickly escalated to include federal involvement because of war-production implications.



More details

theme: Unfinished Revolutions
subjects: African Americans–Civil rights, African Americans–Employment–Pennsylvania–Philadelphia, Civil rights, Public transportation, Strikes and lockouts
contributing repository: Temple University
submitted by: Staff member
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