The 1929 Strike
Motormen and conductors walked off the job on July 1, 1929, unable to come to terms with NOPSI on a number of non-salary issues. By July 3, 1929, traffic was starting to seriously stack up on Canal Street. The strike was peaceful for the first couple of days, with NOPSI re-routing some buses in an attempt to provide some level of service. In this photo, the bus in the bottom left hand corner has “ESPLANADE BELT” written in white in the windows, because it’s standard running board (which says “CITY PARK”) didn’t have the signs for the streetcar lines. On July 5th, NOPSI tried to resume streetcar service with managers and supervisors serving as motermen and conductors. Violence erupted, resulting in Palace car 696 being turned over and burned on Canal Street. There were incidents of vandalism reported at several spots along the Canal line, and many NOPSI facilities, including Canal Station, were damaged by strikers.
The strike was a drawn-out affair, with the motormen and conductors coming to an agreement-in-principle in August, and a full settlement in October. The strike had a major impact on transit ridership, which dropped by 40 million riders in 1929, when compared to 1928.
