Join us for History at High Noon: Labor's Long Road to Recognition in Sioux City on August 21 at 12:05 p.m. at the Sioux City Public Museum. Attendees are welcome to bring their own lunches to enjoy during these free presentations.
Join Russ Gifford as he explores Sioux City’s forgotten labor beginnings, the confrontations, and the sometimes surprising differences that gave Sioux City a unique result. We will meet interesting people from both sides, and see the confrontations and the conclusions, from 1877 to 1977.
Factory laborers, c1920
It was the confluence of rails and the river that pushed Sioux City to greatness. The catalyst of change was the steam engine, which powered both the riverboats and the railroads, and Sioux City’s rise. In the 1880s, manufacturing plants built in Sioux City take advantage of its excellent location and transportation connection. Factories ranged in size, but major ones included the mammoth Paris Stove Works, built at a cost of $500,000 and employing 400 workers. Other industries included the Sioux City Plow Works, Pech’s Pump and Windmill Company, a soap factory, the Sioux City Pottery Works, and the Sioux City Vinegar company. In 1881, James Booge’ meatpacking operation opened a new factory with 350 employees – more than double what all 7 local meatpacking plants had employed in the 1870s. Over 100 factories sprang up in Sioux City in the 1880s.
No matter what the product, factories needed men – lots of them – and Sioux City attacked people to their plants. Initially, the work was home owned, and while Chicago exploded, and Homestead burned, Sioux City moved forward. Business and labor confrontations occurred, but the work continued.
But by the 1890s, stockholder owned industries from Chicago and other major regions were moving into the Sioux City market. Following the 1893 financial meltdown, Sioux City factories changed from local owners to national stockholders. The growth of unions, and the pushback by owners raised tensions everywhere, and Sioux City was no exception.