27 August 1889: Jewish tailors strike
Episode 1 min 9s

27 August 1889: Jewish tailors strike

On this day, 27 August 1889, the great strike of East End Jewish tailors in London began during a dockers' strike.
8,000 workers, mostly Jewish immigrants from Russia, elected a strike committee and walked out, demanding a maximum 12-hour working day (they were working 14-18 hours).
Despite the antipathy of the dockers' union leader, predominantly Irish Catholic dockers donated to the strike fund and helped the tailors hold out until October when the employers caved in.
More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9881/jewish-east-end-tailors-strike-begins

Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.

Community discussion