Brown and Sharpe Labor Strikes

University Archives and Special Collections
15 Lippitt Road
Kingston, RI 02881-2011
Tel: 401-874-4632

email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Published in 2013

Collection Overview

Title:	Brown and Sharpe Labor Strikes
Date range:	1833-1997
Creator:	Gersuny, Carl
Extent:	5 box(es) (2.25 linear feet)
Abstract:	This collection consists of research materials collected by Professor Carl Gersuny about the Brown and Sharpe Labor Strikes.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	University Archives and Special Collections
Collection number:	Mss. Gr. 219

Scope & content

The documents were donated to Special Collections by Carl Gersuny, Professor Emeritus of Sociology. They consist mostly of articles and notes about the strike in 1981. However, copies of newspaper articles from as far back as 1915 are also contained within.

Arrangement

Materials in Series I, II, IV are arranged alphabetically by subject file; Series III is arranged in chronological order.

• 1. 1833-1915
• 2. 1980s Strike
• 3. Court Cases 1984-1997
• 4. Supplemental Materials

Historical note

Founded in 1833, the Brown and Sharpe Company began repairing clocks, watches and other small precision mechanical items. By 1898, the company was manufacturing tools used in machinery and employed 1500 workers. Nearly three quarters of Brown and Sharpe workers enlisted to fight in WWI in 1917. Following the war, sales and the work force dropped as a result of the Great Depression. In 1941, Brown and Sharpe workers finally unionized through the American Machinists Union.

The years between 1941 and 1951 were marked by an uneasy peace as financial losses began to mount and finally workers organized their first strike. Brown and Sharpe reduced its work week in order to save jobs, but had to lay off 700 employees by 1970. In both 1975 and 1979 strikes were organized to no avail. One of the longest strikes in American labor history began in 1981 and legal actions lasted 15 years. Eventually, the union lost. After multiple layoffs, the company could not pull itself out of its massive debt and was forced to put itself up for sale. A company in Sweden, Hexagon A.B., purchased Brown and Sharpe in 2000.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Any qualified person doing scholarly research is permitted to use material housed in the Special Collections Unit.
Use of the materials:	Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Preferred citation:	Research Collection of the Brown and Sharpe Labor Strikes, Mss. Gr. 219, University of Rhode Island.
Contact information:	University Archives and Special Collections 15 Lippitt Road Kingston, RI 02881-2011 Tel: 401-874-4632 email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	Professor Gersuny donated his research materials to Special Collections in July 2009.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Abigail Casavant.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Erin Mullen 2013 October 28, updated by Mark Dionne on 2020 April 6
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Related material:

Of interest is a large “Brown and Sharpe” scrapbook contained within the Records of Rhode Island Public Transportation and Labor Unions.

Inventory

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