GREAT-GRANDPA WAS A UNION MAN

Growing up, I had little pride in the Irish-Catholic culture I was born into. In my harsh adolescent judgment, Irish-Catholics were bigoted stick-in-the-muds. Many of my friends were red-diaper babies or at least came from radical, rabble-rousing, union-loving families. Now that was something to be proud of! 


Last week my cousin, Pat, who’s been doing a terrific amount of research into the Kane family background, sent me a newspaper clipping from the Brooklyn Eagle of July 25, 1867.  Under the headline THE LABOR MOVEMENT, the subhead reads: 
Meeting of Plasterers—Reports from the National Convention--The Eight Hour System, Strikes, etc.


It seems the 120 members of the Operative Plasterer’s Society of Brooklyn held a special meeting at 22 Court Street that evening to hear from the delegates they’d sent to the union’s National Convention. The delegate chosen to report was my great-grandfather, Andrew Kane.


Plastering is an ancient trade and plasterers’ unions have a long history, as far back as medieval Irish craft unions. Local unions formed in the United States as early as the 1830s. By the time of the Civil War, these locals were eager to join forces and form an organization that could standardize rules and regulations—including wages and working conditions. Hence the national convention. 

Delegates from 14 eastern cities (Brooklyn was a separate city in those days)—from Portland to Chicago to Washington, DC—traveled to Baltimore to attend. They represented 2077 journeyman plasterers, who earned from $3.50 to $4.50 for a six-day workweek. The various locals had staged numerous strikes the previous year, some more successful than others. Great Grandpa was able to report that the Convention had praised the Brooklyn local for being the only one that managed to obtain an eight-hour workday for all six days, not just Saturdays. He was also able to report that during the election of the convention’s officers, Andrew Kane was elected Treasurer. Way to go, Great-Grandpa!


Additional tidbits from that day’s Brooklyn Eagle:
Under “Miscellaneous Items”
A lady in Hungerford, England, was frightened to death by a cow.


From “Man as an Article of Food”
It was formerly supposed that the relish with which certain savage tribes ate their enemies arose from the gratification of the passion of revenge. Within the last few years, however, it has been clearly shown that some of the barbarian man-eaters are really fond of human flesh for its own sake. . . .  your Fejee Islander, now, thinks the greatest praise he can bestow upon any edible is to say “that it is as tender as a man.” The Feejeans have plenty of provisions, but they consider “long pig”—their pleasant name for human flesh—much finer than pork, beef, or mutton.
Who knew?


Note on my Edgar predictions of last week. Once again a perfect score: 0