Kohler strikes

The Kohler strikes at the Kohler Company, just west of Sheboygan, Wisconsin in 1934 and 1954 are landmarks in the history of both business and labor in the United States. Labor leaders have often cited the warfare at the giant plumbing supply company in their contention that workers need unions. Industrial leaders have pointed to the strikes as examples of union belligerence and indifference toward the true welfare of their employees.

The Kohler Company was founded in Sheboygan, Wisconsin in 1873, when John Michael Kohler II (1844–1900) took over his father-in-law's steel and iron factory. During the late 19th century it prospered as the producer of plumbing products and enamelware. In 1912, land around a new factory just west of Sheboygan became the Village of Kohler, Wisconsin. From 1905 until his death, John Michael's son Walter J. Kohler, Sr. (1875–1940) led the highly successful business. In the early 1920s, he built a family mansion, Riverbend, and was welcomed in high society in Chicago and elsewhere. In 1928, he became Governor of Wisconsin for a single term.

In the Great Depression, company profits plummeted. The American Federation of Labor turned its attention on Kohler in the spring of 1934, demanding that the AFL replace the company union, the Kohler Workers Association, which had been formed a year earlier, with an independent labor union. In June, AFL leaders called for a 62.5% wage increase and a 25% reduction in hours. Walter strongly opposed this bid for power and closed the plant. On July 16, a strike began.

Violence quickly erupted and the entire Village was closed to traffic. Special deputies hired by the company clashed with pickets, and huge crowds began to assemble. On July 27, purportedly in response to vandalism against company property, the special deputies attacked with guns and tear gas. Two strikers named Lee Wakefield and Harry Englemann were killed, and 47 "men, women and boys were wounded, gassed, and injured". On July 29, in response to appeals by Walter and the local sheriff, 250 members of the National Guard arrived on the scene. Walter, who had been trapped in the main office building for 12 days, blamed the violence on outsiders and people with "communistic affiliations."

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