Railroad Shopmen's Strike of 1922
Altoona, Blair County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Over 300,000 skilled tradesmen went on strike against US railroads to defend gains by unions during WWI. The Pennsylvania Railroad shops in Altoona led the anti-union opposition. The bitter struggle led to the 1926 Railway Labor Act that upheld unions' right to organize.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
When American railroads moved in 1922 to roll back the wage and workplace gains that shop workers had won during World War I, more than 300,000 skilled tradesmen walked off the job in one of the largest strikes in the nation's history. The powerful Pennsylvania Railroad, whose sprawling shops in Altoona were among the largest in the world, led the industry's fierce resistance. Though the strike was broken, the bitter conflict pushed Congress toward the 1926 Railway Labor Act, which affirmed workers' right to organize.
Why it matters
The Shopmen's Strike marks a pivotal chapter in the long American struggle over labor rights, showing how even a defeat could reshape national law and the balance between industry and organized workers.
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Related events
- ¡ Railroad Shopmen's Strike of 1922
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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In 1850 the Pennsylvania Railroad laid its first track to Altoona and built its first repair shops there, and the town grew up around the industry. Nestled at the foot of the Allegheny grade, Altoona became the beating mechanical heart of the mightiest railroad in America. By 1925 it held the nation's largest concentration of railroad shops, where some 16,500 workers built and mended the locomotives and cars that moved the country.
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