Thread by @uncarchives

Starting tomorrow, we'll be marking the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Food Workers' Strike at UNC with a day-by-day account of the strike.

The exhibit on the 1969 strikes, "Service, Not Servitude," opens tomorrow in @WilsonLibUNC. On March 20, we're partnering with @playmakersrep for a performance drawing on archival materials and oral histories about the strike: calendar.lib.unc.edu/event/5014046

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep For the day-by-day account, we'll be drawing heavily on J. Derek Williams' 1979 thesis "It Wasn't Slavery Time Anymore:" Foodworkers' Strike at Chapel Hill," which is available online: cdr.lib.unc.edu/indexableconte…

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep OTD in 1969, tensions between UNC food workers and managers came to a head after repeated attempts by workers to bring their grievances to the attention of managers and administrators.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep Their grievances included improper classification of jobs, denial of raises and overtime pay, disrespectful treatment by supervisors, and other issues.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep That night, evening shift workers at the Pine Room of Lenoir Hall met after their shift and decided to go on strike the following Sunday. Black Student Movement leader Preston Dobbins provided support and guidance.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep OTD in 1969, the day before the strike would begin, 75 members of the Black Student Movement submitted a petition to Student Body President Kenneth Day announcing they would withdraw from UNC's honor court system due to lack of representation.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep OTD in 1969, with the support of Black Student Movement and Southern Student Organizing Committee members, workers in the Pine Room of Lenoir Hall went on strike at the beginning of the dinner shift.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep George Prillaman called in James A. Branch, director of Enterprises and Services, and the two sat down for a meeting with workers. Workers were told their grievances would be considered if they returned to work. They agreed to meet again the following day.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep That evening, striking workers and student allies reached out to other campus food service workers, convincing them to join the strike.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep OTD in 1969 almost 100 food service workers at the University had joined the strike. Workers met again with Prillaman, Branch, and Personnel Director Fred Haskell.  Meanwhile, President Bill Friday assured the Board of Trustees that the university was equipped to handle unrest.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep OTD in 1969, Manning Hall, then under renovation, was established as the headquarters of the strike. Workers and student allies began serving food, prepared off-campus, in Manning for supporters boycotting Lenoir Hall. Food sales supported the striking workers.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep OTD in 1969, the boycott of UNC food services continued along with picketing outside Lenoir Hall. The BSM and SSOC distributed flyers and posters in support of the strike and collected donations for workers.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep Food Services Director Prillaman had hired part-time student help to keep Lenoir open, and bragged to the Greensboro Daily News that he was "actually making money" during the strike.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep OTD in 1969, the UNC student legislature passed a resolution in support of the boycott of Lenoir Hall.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep OTD in 1969 Campus Y director Anne Queen took a detailed report on workers' grievances to Chancellor Carlyle Sitterson. An investigation into the grievances began.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep OTD in 1969, 130 workers were on strike and many joined the picket line at Lenoir. Student allies began slowing down service in Lenoir to discourage students from eating there. They moved slowly through lines, taking only water, and sat one person to a table to take up more room.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep OTD in 1969, student allies continued slow-down efforts in Lenoir. A scuffle broke out as students using the dining hall became angry with students slowing down service. One SSOC member was hit on the head with a glass sugar shaker and required stitches.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep Meanwhile, Preston Dobbins and the BSM considered how to "bring the issue to a point it couldn't be ignored any longer."

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep Dobbins and a few dozen black students and community members went into Lenoir, and, standing on a table, Dobbins called for students to "get out or come be with us." The group then moved through Lenoir flipping the tables and chairs and left for Manning Hall.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep That night, Dr. Reginald Hawkins, father of BSM member Reggie Hawkins, arrived with attys Julius Chambers and Adam Stein. They met with the workers and students in Manning and agreed to represent students charged in the table turning.They encouraged the workers to form a union.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep OTD in 1969, UNC administrators met and decided keep Lenoir closed until the following afternoon. Asst. to the Chancellor Claiborne Jones instructed student Richie Leonard to announce the decision at the rally being held that afternoon.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep At 1:00, over 1,000 people turned out for a rally where strike leaders Mary Smith and Elizabeth Brooks, Preston Dobbins, professor Chick Goldsmid, and Durham community organizer Howard Fuller spoke.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep Encouraged by Chambers and Stein, the workers officially established the UNC Non-Academic Employees Union.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep Governor Robert Scott called Chancellor Sitterson and President Friday to Raleigh, and directed them to reopen the cafeteria the next morning under heavy guard. The administrators agreed, but argued that the additional police would not be necessary.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep Sitterson prepared a statement on the reopening, upcoming talks with workers, and the progress of an audit of pay records. Scott announced he was sending 5 squads of riot-trained patrolmen to Chapel Hill and putting 4 National Guard units on standby in Durham as Lenoir reopened.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep OTD in 1969, Lenoir reopened under guard. Workers met with VC Joseph Eagles and Asst. to the Chancellor Claiborne Jones. Chancellor Sitterson met with deans and department heads, acknowledging that problems had been found in the audit of food services pay records.

@WilsonLibUNC @playmakersrep This footage, taken 50 years ago today, shows state troopers arriving and lining up around Lenoir.

OTD in 1969 a rally of over 500 students was disrupted by bomb threats. Student government leaders attempted to negotiate with administrators and with the governor.

The regularly scheduled Faculty Council meeting was postponed, and professor Alden Lind convened an open faculty meeting instead, with Elizabeth Brooks and Preston Dobbins as guests. 250 people attended the meeting in Murphey Hall.

Around noon OTD in 1969, a silent vigil was held on Franklin St. in support of the food workers. Supporters lined up on both sides of the street, spanning two blocks.

That afternoon, a group of around 20 faculty members convened at the home of Alden Lind to discuss how to push the administration to meet the workers' demands. Members of the group met that evening with graduate students who advocated a broader strike.

That night, attorney Julius Chambers announced his firm would be representing the workers.

OTD in 1969, attorney Adam Stein met with Claiborne Jones, who advised he negotiate with the Attorney General's office. Workers refused a meeting with state personnel officials about job classifications. A rally was held at noon on Polk Place.

OTD in 1969, Chan. Sitterson told a large crowd in Memorial Hall that he intended that "every grievance be examined and that every legitimate grievance be dealt with justly and promptly."

He reported that the workers' attorneys were working with the Office of the AG, that auditors were reviewing payroll records, that state personnel officials were reviewing job classifications, and that changes could be expected to food service management.

Workers were unconvinced. Strike leader Mary Smith was quoted in the DTH saying: "They keep on saying 'we agree,' and 'we're getting a team to come in to handle that.' That's what they keep on saying but nothing ever gets done."

OTD in 1969, the University ordered that the loudspeaker in Manning Hall be shut off. Student supporters of the strike had been playing music and making announcements via the loudspeaker, which drew complaints from faculty with classes in nearby buildings.

At a closed meeting in Hill Hall, Chancellor Sitterson responded to questions from a group of around 700 faculty members.

Meanwhile, strike leaders Mary Smith and Elizabeth Brooks held a press conference. Brooks told the crowd, "we've had nothing but a lot of promises...and until we see some real attention going on, we have no intention of paying attention to these promises." [Quote - DTH, 3/13/69]

After Sitterson left the meeting with faculty, Elizabeth Brooks and Mary Smith joined the meeting to respond to faculty questions about the strike.