The Story of the Bertelle Manufacturing Company Strike of 1950

By J.N. Cheney

Copyright ©2025 All rights reserved by the author.

Strikers outside of Slovak Hall during the 1912–1913 Little Falls textile strike. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

Unbeknownst to many, the Mohawk Valley has a rich history of radical politics and organized labor. Some of these events, such as the Little Falls Textile Strike of 1912-1913, were torrid affairs in which strikers engaged in lengthy battles for better pay, working conditions, and other related provisions. Other times, though, these strikes end up as a blip on the radar. Some strikes are remembered as short but powerful displays of the strength of an organized working class. Such is the story of the 1950 Bertelle Manufacturing Company Strike.

The Bertelle Manufacturing Company (BMC) was a dressmaking company founded in 1937 and based in Herkimer, New York.^[1] On July 21^st, 1950, upwards of 100 Bertelle employees initiated a strike. Seemingly, all of these employees were women. Members of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) went on strike mainly because Bertelle management failed to respond to a request to have their union formally recognized and to establish a union contract with the company.^[2] Some sources, such as the Herkimer Evening Telegram, also indicate that the strikers fought for benefits such as pay raises, paid holidays, vacation and sick time, and other such improvements alongside their bid for union recognition.^[3]

No reports indicate that there was any major unrest during the strike; thus, it can be inferred that this was a very calm, neat, and orderly affair. That said, there still remained some contention between the ILGWU and the BMC. It took five days for any sort of meeting between the two parties to discuss these problems to come to fruition, and even then, it had to be rescheduled to a different part of the day.^[4] This could be chalked up to the fact that the manager of the Bertelle plant, one Jack Gordon, was reportedly out of town when this strike began.^[5] Other newspapers reported that one Jacob Gordon, cited as the plant's owner, outright rejected the idea of recognizing the ILGWU. The website “Herkimer County, NY GenWeb” mentions a Jack Gordon in its Bertelle section, but there’s no mention of any Jacob. These may have been the same person, and a discrepancy in names may have been an error on the part of the different outlets reporting on this. Regardless of who was in charge, the BMC showed no interest in the union. Nonetheless, after five days of struggling to schedule negotiations, a meeting finally took place on July 26^th.^[6] It was hoped that this would be the only meeting necessary and that the dispute would end early.

All accounts point to this meeting as the only one needed, as papers such as the Ilion Sentinel and the Syracuse Herald-Journal reported that the strike concluded the following day after extensive negotiations involving numerous figures in both the union sphere and Bertelle, including union representative Anthony Blasting. Through these negotiations, the striking women secured official union recognition, culminating in a collective bargaining agreement and a return to work. With this new contract, Bertelle employees earned a flat 10-cent per hour raise, a minimum starting wage of 85 cents per hour, three paid holidays, a one-week paid vacation, a health fund, and a death payment of $500 to go to the family of anyone who was a member of the union for at least two years.^[7]

Although it was a small dispute compared to others that have occurred in the region throughout the twentieth century, lasting less than a week, the Bertelle Manufacturing Company strike provides an interesting glimpse into the vastly untouched history of the Mohawk Valley’s hidden radical kernels. This strike additionally serves as an example and lesson of what is possible through working-class power and organized labor, even in small doses.

About the author:

J.N. Cheney is an aspiring historian with a BA in History focusing on the labor movement, radical politics, and community action in New York’s Mohawk Valley. His work has been featured in Cosmonaut Magazine, Z Network, and The Bias, among other online and print publications. His forthcoming book with Algora Publishing is Women, Immigrants, and the Working-Class Battle in Little Falls, New York: The Textile Strike of 1912-1913.

Bibliography

^[1] “Landmark Buildings of Herkimer County: The Mark Mill and the Gem Building,” Herkimer NY GenWeb, n.d., https://herkimer.nygenweb.net/herktown/morrismark.html.

^[2] “Herkimer Workers Strike For Union,” The Daily Messenger (Canandaigua, NY), July 21, 1950. https://www.newspapers.com/image/21639595/.; “100 Women Strike at Herkimer Plant,” The Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY), July 22, 1950. https://www.newspapers.com/image/136017203/.

^[3] “Negotiations Started to End Dress Strike,” The Evening Telegram (Herkimer, NY), July 26, 1950.; “Strike Continues At Herkimer,” The Observer-Dispatch (Utica, NY), July 26, 1950.

^[4] “Negotiations Started to End Dress Strike.”

^[5] “Herkimer Workers Strike For Union.”

^[6] Ibid, The Evening Telegram.

^[7] “Herkimer Strike Is Settled By Union, Company,” The Sentinel (Ilion, NY), July 27, 1950.; “Agreement Ends Strike In Herkimer,” The Syracuse Herald-Journal, July 27, 1950. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1086549486/.