August 1, 1944 – Philadelphia White Transit Workers Strike Over Promotion of Black Workers

During World War II, the Philadelphia Transit Company (PTC) was one of the largest transit systems in the country, serving approximately 2,500,000 passengers per day.

In July 1944, the War Manpower Commission ruled that the PTC had to align their hiring practices with policies of the United States Employment Service, which had a strict nondiscrimination policy. On July 27, 1944, the PTC finally began compliance by proposing the promotion of eight whole African American employees (from among a workforce of 11,000) to the position of motormen (i.e., trolley car drivers). In spite of the small number involved, the very idea of blacks having these jobs enraged the white PTC workers. They gathered on company property and decided to strike if any African Americans were promoted. They knew that they had leverage because Philadelphia was the country’s third largest war production city; many of those involved in war industries relied on public transportation to get to their jobs.

White employees of the PTC rally during the strike (Historical Society of Pennsylvania)

As a Temple University online exhibit about the strike reports:

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.”

Negotiations remained at a stalemate for three days. Even though the strike was racially motivated, the implications for war production made it a federal matter. President Franklin Roosevelt, under the power of the Smith-Connally Act (50 U.S.C. App. 1501 et seq.) sent federal troops to Philadelphia to seize control of the PTC.

(Ironically, Roosevelt had vetoed the Smith-Conally Act when it was passed by Congress. Also called the War Labor Disputes Act, the bill required unions to give formal notice of intention to strike, to observe a 30-day cooling-off period, and to secure majority support for the strike from the rank-and-file membership. Most importantly, it also gave the president the power to seize war plants and to impose penalties for illegal work stoppages. The act expired in June 1947.)

On Saturday, August 5, 5,000 heavily armed troops marched into the city and set up encampments. The soldiers protected PTC employees who still wished to work and to operate the transit cars. The strikers continued to object to black promotions. Blacks countered that if they could fight in the war and drive tanks, they could and should be able to drive trolley cars.

There was some sporadic violence, but “due to local and state government actions to close liquor stores and increase the police presence in the city, and work by the NAACP and other black organizations in the city, peace generally prevailed.” It also became clear that public opinion was against the strike, viewing it as unpatriotic.

The strike ended on Monday, August 7, 1944. The eight new black motormen returned to work on August 9 to begin their training. Federal troops remained in Philadelphia policing the street cars until August 17, when they finally returned control to the PTC and withdrew from the city.

Soldiers putting sign on trolley indicating an end to the strike | Photo: Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities

Temple University describes the aftermath of the strike and the federal response:

By September 1944, seven of the new black motormen were driving PTC trolleys. By the following month, the number of black employees working as motormen had doubled. Black employees in skilled positions steadily increased over the following years.”

Thomas E. Allen, a black employee of the PTC, receiving instruction as a trolley operator