Indianapolis Streetcar Strike of 1913 - Aftermath

Aftermath

The strikebreakers were escorted out of the city by the National Guard on November 8. They left by train to return to Chicago. The same day, the employees returned to work and normal operations resumed. There was a brief disturbance when pro-union employees refused to work on cars with non-union employees. Ralston immediately interceded in the dispute, and threatened to use the National Guard to run the streetcars until the Indiana Public Service Commission could resolve the dispute. The employees dropped their objections and returned to work. The National Guard remained in the city until November 9 without incident. They demobilized on November 10.

Ralston and Ethelbert Stewart cooperated to formalize a longer-term arbitration agreement, and on November 12 finished work on a binding agreement whereby all employees agreed to continue work and maintain all their former seniority, excepting workers involved in violence—all of whom were to be arrested. The strike had lasted eight days, four strikers and two strikebreakers had been killed, several others shot, and hundreds on both sides were injured during the clashes between the police, rioters, and strikebreakers. The events were the "greatest breakdown in public order ever seen in Indianapolis" according to historian William D. Dalton.

Sheriff Porttens charged 33 officers with insubordination on November 12 because of their refusal to obey orders during the strike. The police threatened a strike of their own. With the support of Mayor Shank and a petition that received several thousand signatures, the police were permitted to retain their jobs. Sheriff Porttens promptly resigned after 29 years on the force. Indianapolis Mayor Shank resigned from office after the city council threatened impeachment because of his encouragement of the police mutiny. He left office on November 28, four weeks before the end of his term.

When the General Assembly convened in January, Ralston proposed several acts aimed to improve work conditions. Among the laws he promoted, and the Assembly passed, were acts that banned the sale of narcotic drugs for the first time, a minimum wage, and free vaccinations for several prevalent diseases. Ralston successfully lobbied for other improvements to the living conditions of the urban poor that included funding to provide clean running water and children's playgrounds.

The AASEREA submitted a list of twenty-three grievances to the Indiana Public Service Commission on November 14. The arbitration by the commission lasted several months. Progress was initially stalled when the AASEREA objected to the participation of two of the five members of the commission in rendering a decision. The two members eventually agreed to recuse themselves from participation in the arbitration proceedings. The commission issued the final agreement on February 14, 1914. The commission ruled in favor of the Traction and Terminal Company on most of the grievances. The commission ruled that new employees would not be required to join the union, and employees who did not join the union were ineligible to receive the benefits of the arbitration. For the employees, wages were increased from 21 cents to 28 cents per hour—much less than the increase to 35 cents the AASEREA called for. All workers were guaranteed a minimum of $45 per month and at least one Sunday off work each month.

Following the ruling, the company barred the union from soliciting new members on the company property and began offering incentives to new workers to sign contracts wherein they promised not to join the union. The AASEREA objected to the company's policy and the prior agreement required the Public Service Commission rule on the matter. The commission sided with the company on both issues on August 26, 1914 and barred union solicitation on company property, and upheld the right of the company to hire non-union employees.