Historian speaks about strike at well-known factory in Sparta

Dr. Troy Smith, historian

The Rotary Club of Sparta met for its weekly meeting, at noon, on July 29, in the Fellowship Hall of the Sparta First United Methodist Church.

The Club welcomed speaker and Rotary Club of Sparta member Dr. Troy Smith, Associate Professor of History at Tennessee Tech University, who spoke on the history of the Sparta Shirt Factory and its 1947 labor strike.

The Sparta Shirt Factory had its origins in the Sparta Silk Mill. It was only in 1929 that it became a shirt factory—Mylan-Sparta Co. Inc. The labor movement in White County, however, had its origins much earlier.

“After World War I, United Mine Workers of America – led by John L. Lewis – made strides toward a presence in Southern Appalachia,” Smith stated. “There were several small strikes in the area in the late 1910s and a large one in White County in 1924 that led to 1,000 men walking off the job for 10 weeks. The strike ended with labor making many concessions. In 1934 the last remaining mine on Bon Air closed when owners and the union could not reach an agreement.”

Mining jobs were already declining due to decreasing productivity of the mines and decreasing coal prices due to the Great Depression, but nevertheless the loss of mining jobs would create aversion toward unions whenever efforts at organizing were made.  However, efforts at organizing continued, and, in 1945, Silas Huddleston, an organizer for the United Mine Workers, arrived in Sparta and met with 55 Mylan workers following unrest after an expected wage increase did not materialize.  A UMW chapter was formed at Mylan, and officers were elected.

A 10 percent raise in pay was granted to Mylan employees, in August 1946, and, by October a scheduled vote to unionize Mylan was called off. Charles Bassine, plant manager and part-owner of the Sparta Mylan factory, released a statement praising his workers for making a “wise choice.”  “Let us all go on from here in friendship and prosperity,” the company statement said.

“After the final vote for unionization was defeated, Bassine shut down the Mylan plant for two weeks for remodeling because he had landed several huge new contracts, including one with Sears, that would require a huge increase in production,” Smith explained. “Workers who had voted down the union felt they had been tricked.”

Four-hundred Mylan employees—80 percent of the factory workforce—walked out in demand of a 65-cent minimum hourly wage scale, on Sept. 22, 1947. But protest would turn to violence when Mal Wallace upset a crowd, on Oct. 29.

“Mal Wallace said something at a public meeting—there is no record of his exact words—that deeply insulted the Mylan workers,” Smith said.  “The next day, a huge crowd of women marched down Shirt Factory Hill to the town square and found Wallace at M&H Hardware.  They beat him up, breaking his glasses and blacking his eyes.  The women also beat up Ben Tobin, owner of the Fair Store because he was Jewish, like Bassine.”

By December passions had cooled and many Mylan workers, upset by actions of the strike leaders, sought to return to work.  The first workers returned to the factory in early January. After a week, some 150 Mylan workers had returned to their jobs.  On the first day, workers were given a 10 percent salary increase, with an additional 10 percent on the third day.

 “Don’t wait for us to send you notice to return,” Bassine wrote in a statement. “Come in at once. You will find a place awaiting you among friends and neighbors.”

Dr. Smith noted that he hoped to publish the story in greater detail in an upcoming book or article.  For more information, visit his website at proftroysmith.blogspot.com

The Rotary Club of Sparta meets each Thursday at noon in the Fellowship Hall of the Sparta First United Methodist Church. To learn more about the Rotary Club of Sparta, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/RotaryClubSpartaTN or their website rotary-club-of-sparta-tennessee.org