[1] As discussed below, several factors may have allowed biracial union efforts to succeed at the port of New Orleans, including (a) the independent strength of the black[2] unions that compelled whites to enter into collaborative agreements with them; (b) the prior history of racial division or segmentation of labor; (c) the relative power of employers to control jobs; and (d) overall employment relations.
"[6] Alliances between the groups allowed both to exercise more control over the terms and conditions of their work, including wage rates and production expectations.
Union leaders of both races recognized the difference that an alliance made in those terms and conditions, prompting a pragmatic continuation of the biracial system.
This critical task put them at the top of the labor force on the docks and allowed them to insist on the highest wages; their work was highly skilled, required immense strength, and was indispensable to the smooth operation of the waterfront.
"[20] In part as a response to the high wages that screwmen commanded (regardless of how many bales were stowed) and the results of cooperation between black and white workers overall on the waterfront, employers introduced a new system of loading known as 'shoot-the-chute.'
This system required crews of 4 to 5 men to throw down between 400 and 700 bales or more of cotton per day into the holds of the ships where other workers waited to pack them.
[27] In the fall of 1902, the black and white screwmen unions agreed that they would present all demands to employers jointly, renew the 50-50 work-sharing agreement from the spring, and maintain mixed-race work crews.
Notably, the screwmen enjoyed the backing of other waterfront unions – both black and white – and the newly formed Dock and Cotton Council.
Negotiations continued through the spring and summer, with employers agreeing on 50-50 but insisting on the higher pace and threatening to move work elsewhere.
Shippers filed several lawsuits and restraining orders against the screwmen, and city leaders (including Mayor Paul Capdevielle) unsuccessfully attempted to mediate.
[36] Scholar Daniel Rosenberg noted that even imported strikebreakers sometimes quit when they learned of the lockout and both protests and violence rapidly broke out.
[37] Ultimately, the two-week lockout ended when employers proposed terms requiring screwmen to produce 160 hand-stowed bales per day.
After intense debate in a joint meeting of the black and white screwmen, the proposal was accepted and the shipping lines admitted defeat.
Pursuant to a call from the Dock and Cotton Council, 9,000 dockworkers, black and white, struck the New Orleans port that evening in a show of solidarity with the screwmen.
[51] On October 11, black and white screwmen proposed a return to work at the rate of 160 bales per day, pending an investigation into port charges and conditions.
[53] Instead, the union agreed that it would accept the mayor's proposal of 180 bales per day on the condition that this rate stand as a final settlement, pending no further action or investigation.
[54] The general strike ended on October 24, 1907, with a compromise plan endorsed and urged by the city's mayor, who was under pressure due to ongoing financial losses resulting from the disruption of work.
[56] In response to union demands, the agreement also included provisions for an investigation into the port's viability and conditions based on workers' allegations that they were unfairly being blamed for general economic and trade problems.
[58] After no resolution could be reached, the mayor and Louisiana governor Newton C. Blanchard instructed the state assembly to form a five-person committee to investigate all charges and regulations affecting the New Orleans port, including labor and related elements.
A particular focus was the nature of cross-racial action; they viewed the screwmen's 50-50 rule as undesirable, particularly as it risked fostering what they considered inappropriate social equality.