In 1928, the National Textile Workers Union sent organizers to Gastonia, North Carolina, to organize workers at the Loray Cotton Mill into a union. The following spring those workers went on strike. Mill owners refused to negotiate and threw striking workers out of their mill-owned housing. The strike turned violent, and Gastonia’s police chief was killed. In this chapter, we’ll explore the events and experiences of the strike through contemporary newspaper coverage.

Section Contents

• The Gastonia Strike
• The Strike Begins
• An Industry Representative visits Loray Mills
• A Union Organizer Blames the Mill
• The Strikers Move Into Tents
• Congress Considers an Inquiry Into Textile Strikes
• The Police Chief is Killed
• The Mill Mother's Lament