The Little Falls Textile Strike of 1912-1913 was a pivotal but long-neglected event in American labor history. The story includes the dramatic struggle of immigrant women against powerful mill owners, brutal police repression, and a hostile press as they fought for their dignity and survival. The history chronicles how a walkout over reduced wages grew into a major labor conflict, drawing in powerful allies like the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), the socialist government of nearby Schenectady, and nationally recognized figures such as Helen Keller and “Big Bill” Haywood.
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Central to the narrative is the courageous work of nurse Helen Schloss, who, while hired by the town’s elite to combat tuberculosis, ended up exposing her employers’ husbands as the owners of the city’s worst slums.
In our latest, we talk with historian James Cheney about his new book “Women, Immigrants, and the Working-Class Battle in Little Falls, New York: The Textile Strike of 1912–1913.”
Guest Bio// James Cheney is an independent historian focusing on the labor movement, radical politics, and community action in the Mohawk Valley. He is the author of “Women, Immigrants, and the Working-Class Battle in Little Falls, New York: The Textile Strike of 1912–1913.”
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