Economics Research Seminar: Dr. Ethan Schmick (Marquette University)

Title: Black Strikebreakers and Industrial Opportunity

Abstract: During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Black Americans were frequently used to break strikes in a variety of industries in which they were under-represented. In this paper, we empirically explore the extent to which Black workers were able to break employment barriers and mitigate racial inequalities through the process of strikebreaking. To do this, we exploit data on the city, year, and industry in which Black strikebreakers were employed. We find that Black strikebreakers increased Black labor shares in county-industry pairs in which they were used by 2 to 4 percentage points. In addition, wages for Black workers in these county-industry pairs increased relative to white workers, reducing inequality.