WW in 1971: Phone workers defy court, battle cops

Editor’s note: Workers World is in its 50th year of publication. Throughout the year, we will share with our readers some of the paper’s content over the past half century. Below is a reprint from a 1971 article on a wildcat strike of 19,000 members of the Communication Workers of America in New York City in response to unfair overtime benefits given to 500 “craftsmen” from out-of-state.

NEW YORK, Jan. 14—At a jam packed, standing room only rally of over 6,000 telephone workers in Manhattan Center here today, rank-and-file workers of Local 1101 of the Communication Workers of America rocked the hall with shouts of “strike” and “Ma Bell, go to hell” as they voted to continue their three-day walkout against the Bell Telephone Co. and its $50 billion parent company, the AT&T monopoly.

While Howard Banker, president of Local 1101, (who had defied the court order ordering the workers back to their jobs) was talking about the seriousness of the injunction and the financial penalties to the union, the membership roared out, “Burn it, burn it.” As cigarette lighters were lit up all around the auditorium, Banker tore the injunction up into small pieces. The auditorium broke into pandemonium.

When the president was again heard, he reported that all New York State locals were being pulled out as well as Western Electric Locals 1103 and 1106. The meeting adjourned with an announcement of a noon demonstration against the international office of AT&T at 195 Broadway in the Wall Street area.

Chanting “Ma Bell, go to hell,” the membership poured out onto 34th St. and 8th Ave. and got into trains, buses and cars. At the company office downtown, nearly two thousand Black and white workers surrounded the office, spilling over into the streets. Eggs were splattered on the windows and scabs were hit as they entered and left through the revolving doors. Cops charged at the workers on the line with clubs swinging. “Pigs, pigs,” roared the rank and file as they fought back with icy snowballs, rocks and whatever else they could lay their hands on.

Both Black and white workers took some casualties and arrests. In a final act of militancy, before they left to return to the picket lines where they work, hundreds of workers trashed some buildings in the Wall Street area, including the New York office of the Bell Telephone Co. at West Street.

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