people understand why we’re doing this. But Johnson and his big city lawyers hold all the cards. We can strike, but they can afford to hire scabs to break the union. A strike was the last thing we wanted, but they just wouldn’t budge off a lousy five-cent an hour raise. That won’t keep most of us in cigarettes, much less help pay the rent or make a car payment.”
Roy doused his cigarette in his coffee and left it in the sink. He pulled on his denim work cap and jacket hanging on a hook by the door the same way he did every day when he was working.
On the picket line he and friend, Harold Birch talked about their chances of winning the strike.
“We’ve made our choice,” Harold said. “Now we have to stick it out and hope they come back to the table with a better offer. They’ll find out soon that hiring warm bodies off the street won’t be able to fix those old engines like we have for forty some years.” Harold held up his sign, which read: On Strike for Better Pay and Working Conditions.
Chapter 14
“Some of Bankstowne’s young men went off to war to fight the Germans across the ocean in Europe.”
Scabs cross picket line
“Get ready, here come the scab buses,” Birch called out to the picket line. “Scabs, dirty scabs!”
Taunts were hurled at the busses until one of the scabs was recognized.
“Hey, Roy, ain’t that Randy Holmes?”
“Yeah, sure is,” Roy replied, disappointed in the young man he was training as an apprentice machinist.
A brick smashed through the front windshield of the lead bus and stopped the caravan. Strikers pried open the door and pulled the replacement workers off the bus, trying to get Randy, a Korean War veteran, who’d worked at the Shops less than a year. Three strike breakers were thrown to the pavement and beaten with fists and baseball bats.
Roy hated scabs for breaking the picket line but didn’t like the violence. It just gave Coastline a stronger position at the bargaining table. He and Burch stepped back from the fray and tried to get the strikers back on the picket line. The melee lasted nearly a half-hour before the out-numbered Bankstowne police and Coastline security guards could get the strikers under control. Bankstowne Police and Sheriff’s deputies struggled to maintain order at each shift change.
Violence erupts on URW picket line. Tuesday’s headline sent shockwaves not only through Bankstowne, but also across the state. Rick’s daily articles gave vivid, up-close coverage of the strike violence. The Associated Press picked up the attack on the buses. Billings also received requests from Dan Jenkins, editor of Raleigh Times Herald for exclusives on Rick’s coverage.
“This ain’t good,” Birch said to Roy after their shift ended. “It’s been a week and Coastline ain’t budged an inch. Clarence said old Sam Johnson and that fancy D.C. lawyer just sat there like a couple of stuffed toads and told him how lucky we were to even have a job. They threatened to shut the Shops down altogether if we don’t give in on some of our demands.”
“Well, Harold, we just have to see what tomorrow brings.” Roy waved goodnight to Birch and turned off Fifth Street toward home where Mary Beth waited, hoping for good news.
Chapter 15
“Those who remained worked hard to make sure they contributed their part to support their brothers in combat.”
Strike violence escalates
The second week of the strike found Bankstowne relatively calm, until a violent explosion went off by the Yadkin River pump station and shook the ground for miles around. The blast destroyed the pump and twenty feet of pipeline that supplied water to Bankstowne Shops. Without water, the Shops and the steam engines that passed through for refueling and repair work couldn’t operate.
“Can you help me catch the phones? Rick’s college friend, George Klinger yelled from the broadcast booth, his headphones temporarily slung around his neck. “Something crazy is going
Roy doused his cigarette in his coffee and left it in the sink. He pulled on his denim work cap and jacket hanging on a hook by the door the same way he did every day when he was working.
On the picket line he and friend, Harold Birch talked about their chances of winning the strike.
“We’ve made our choice,” Harold said. “Now we have to stick it out and hope they come back to the table with a better offer. They’ll find out soon that hiring warm bodies off the street won’t be able to fix those old engines like we have for forty some years.” Harold held up his sign, which read: On Strike for Better Pay and Working Conditions.
Chapter 14
“Some of Bankstowne’s young men went off to war to fight the Germans across the ocean in Europe.”
Scabs cross picket line
“Get ready, here come the scab buses,” Birch called out to the picket line. “Scabs, dirty scabs!”
Taunts were hurled at the busses until one of the scabs was recognized.
“Hey, Roy, ain’t that Randy Holmes?”
“Yeah, sure is,” Roy replied, disappointed in the young man he was training as an apprentice machinist.
A brick smashed through the front windshield of the lead bus and stopped the caravan. Strikers pried open the door and pulled the replacement workers off the bus, trying to get Randy, a Korean War veteran, who’d worked at the Shops less than a year. Three strike breakers were thrown to the pavement and beaten with fists and baseball bats.
Roy hated scabs for breaking the picket line but didn’t like the violence. It just gave Coastline a stronger position at the bargaining table. He and Burch stepped back from the fray and tried to get the strikers back on the picket line. The melee lasted nearly a half-hour before the out-numbered Bankstowne police and Coastline security guards could get the strikers under control. Bankstowne Police and Sheriff’s deputies struggled to maintain order at each shift change.
Violence erupts on URW picket line. Tuesday’s headline sent shockwaves not only through Bankstowne, but also across the state. Rick’s daily articles gave vivid, up-close coverage of the strike violence. The Associated Press picked up the attack on the buses. Billings also received requests from Dan Jenkins, editor of Raleigh Times Herald for exclusives on Rick’s coverage.
“This ain’t good,” Birch said to Roy after their shift ended. “It’s been a week and Coastline ain’t budged an inch. Clarence said old Sam Johnson and that fancy D.C. lawyer just sat there like a couple of stuffed toads and told him how lucky we were to even have a job. They threatened to shut the Shops down altogether if we don’t give in on some of our demands.”
“Well, Harold, we just have to see what tomorrow brings.” Roy waved goodnight to Birch and turned off Fifth Street toward home where Mary Beth waited, hoping for good news.
Chapter 15
“Those who remained worked hard to make sure they contributed their part to support their brothers in combat.”
Strike violence escalates
The second week of the strike found Bankstowne relatively calm, until a violent explosion went off by the Yadkin River pump station and shook the ground for miles around. The blast destroyed the pump and twenty feet of pipeline that supplied water to Bankstowne Shops. Without water, the Shops and the steam engines that passed through for refueling and repair work couldn’t operate.
“Can you help me catch the phones? Rick’s college friend, George Klinger yelled from the broadcast booth, his headphones temporarily slung around his neck. “Something crazy is going
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