Scripto strike records
Scope and Content of the Records
The records, 1963-1968, 1996, 1999 consist of legal and union documents from the 1960s relating to the strike, as well as newspaper articles and photographs. Transcripts of interviews with strike participants and supporters make up the 1996 part of the collection. An article written for Atlanta History is from 1999. Also included is a videotape on the strike and a microcassette copy of a Hosea Williams interview from 1996.
Dates
- 1963-1968, 1996-1999
Restrictions on access
Collection is open for research use.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Georgia State University is the owner of the physical collection and makes reproductions available for research, subject to the copyright law of the United States and item condition. Georgia State University may or may not own the rights to materials in the collection. It is the researcher's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and obtain permission from the copyright holder before publication, reproduction, or display of the materials beyond what is reasonable under copyright law. Researchers may quote selections from the collection under the fair use provision of copyright law.
Historical Note
In the early 1960s, Scripto was one of the United States' leading pen and pencil manufacturers, and one of Atlanta's largest employers. In 1963, the International Chemical Workers Union began the process of organizing Scripto's workers, and on June 9, 1964 the National Labor Relations Board granted the Chemical Workers Union a Certification of Representation. On the day before Thanksgiving, 1964, Scripto employees walked off the job, demanding more equitable pay for skilled and non-skilled workers. (As it stood, non-skilled workers were receiving $400 a year below the federal poverty level).
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. sympathized and supported the strikers, many of whom were black, and members of King's church. The Reverend C.T. Vivian believed an alliance between civil rights groups and the union would help the strikers reach their demands. With the help of King and Vivian, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Chemical Workers Union combined efforts to increase pressure on Scripto. They planned a national boycott, in which over half a million leaflets were distributed to unions asking them to boycott all Scripto products. As the strike progressed, it increasingly took the form of a civil rights initiative. The strike heightened the negative feelings some Atlanta leaders had toward Martin Luther King, Jr.. By Christmas 1964, Scripto and the Union reached their first agreement: The union would drop the boycott, if Scripto gave the striking workers their annual Christmas bonuses. On January 9, 1965, the Scripto strike came to an end. The workers received a 4 cent across-the-board increase each year for the following three years, and Scripto was forced to re-hire 155 strikers and retain the replacement workers they had hired to maintain production during the strike. After the strike, racial tensions eased at the Scripto plant.
Due to international competition, the Atlanta Scripto plant closed in 1994.
"The Scripto Strike. Martin Luther King's "Valley of Problems": Atlanta, 1964-1965." Atlanta History, Fall 1999.
Extent
0.42 Linear Feet (in 20 folders)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract:
The collection documents the strike (1964-1965) at Atlanta's Scripto Corporation manufacturing plant. The records of the Scripto strike, 1963-1968, 1996, 1999 consist of contemporary legal and union documents, newspaper articles, and photographs. Transcripts of interviews conducted in 1996 and a published article round out the collection.
Arrangement
The records are arranged chronological.
Acquisition Information
Donated by Hartwell and Susan Hooper, April 2003.
Processing Information
Processed by Angela Lefebvre at the file level, August 2003.
- Atlanta (Ga.)
- International Chemical Workers Union
- King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968
- Labor unions -- Organizing
- Office equipment and supplies industry -- Employees
- Scripto (Firm : Atlanta, Ga.)
- Southern Christian Leadership Conference
- Strikes and lockouts
- Vivian, C. T.
- Wildcat strikes
- Williams, Hosea, 1926-2000
- oral histories (document genres)
- Title
- The Scripto Strike:
- Subtitle
- A Guide to Its Records at Georgia State University Library
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Georgia State University Library
- Date
- August 2003
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
100 Decatur St., S.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
404-413-2880
404-413-2881 (Fax)
archives@gsu.edu