Century Biscuit Company - A Modern Factory
Century Biscuit Company was founded in 1902. It was exalted as a modern private business without the help of a trust. In 1913, the company’s original factory, located on South Meridian Street, burned down in a fire. Due to this fire, the factory at 630 W New York Street was built. The company boasted of the new factory's modern design, as it was constructed with concrete and had ovens on the third floor rather than the first to facilitate ventilation.
The biscuit factory itself was a sign of the modern era as it was part of the industrialization of food production. The Century Biscuit Company was on the forefront of this transition that was nearly complete by the 1910s. The company baked bread, crackers, and other staples that had previously been made at home.
Modern Food Delivery
This new mode of mass food production required delivery. Century Biscuit was an early adapter of automobiles to transport their products to stores and consumers. This new process was not always the safest. In 1920, a 17-year-old driver for Century Biscuit was hit by a train while making deliveries.
It is unclear if this accident was result of specific practices of Century Biscuit or simply due to the adjustment of having cars and trains crossing paths. However, when combined with the earlier fire, a pattern of the risks to workers associated with Century Biscuit’s business model becomes clear. A few decades later, these risks would result in pushback from employees.
1937 Strike
In the midst of the Great Depression, Century Biscuit employed about 140 workers. The demographics of the company's work force are not entirely clear. It often advertised that it was looking to hire “girls 16 and up” but did not specify race. Therefore, the exact racial makeup of the workforce in 1937 is unknown. However, there were at least some African American employees who lived in the surrounding neighborhood, including James Shirley, who attended a local CIO dance in October of 1937.
August 1937, United Baking Workers Industrial Union Local 86, CIO affiliate were in negotiations with Century Biscuit and a State Labor Division facilitator who had been assigned to the issue. The owners claimed that negotiations were stalled because their lawyer was sick. When negotiations appeared to be going nowhere, the union voted to strike during a meeting on Monday night, August 16.
The strike started the next morning with approximately 100 of the firms 150 workers, “many of them women” picketing outside the factory. The police warned that violence would not be tolerated. The union's demands included a closed shop (all workers would be required join the union), a forty-hour work week, a minimum wage of 50 cents an hour, seniority rights, time and half for overtime, and vacations with pay.
Lasting three days, the strike ended in negotiations for a temporary agreement on the evening of Wednesday, August 19. Workers agreed to go back to work and allow negotiations for a permanent agreement to continue. The dispute wasn’t fully settled until September 24. The final agreement “provides for a 5 percent wage increase, a fifty-hour week and time-and-a-half for overtime,” and a union contract rather than a closed shop. The striking workers were not able to achieve all of what they were asking for, but did make progress toward better compensation and working conditions.
1945 Strike
By 1945, the factory was under new ownership and had government contracts to produce C-rations, “a special cracker used by the Army,” for the war effort. The company was actively touting its patriotism and contributions to the war effort, signing on to full-page advertisements in the newspapers promoting war bonds. According to the Indianapolis Recorder, the factory employed about 150 workers, about 90% of whom were African American and likely lived in the surrounding neighborhood.
On March 29, 1945, a consent election was held to organize a local chapter of the United Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Employees of America (CIO Affiliate) and the National Labor Relations board certified the union. On the evening of Saturday, April 7, the local union elected officers, including Tyree Westbrook as president, and decided to open contract negotiations with Century Biscuit management the week after.
Less than 24 hours after the election, Tyree Westbrook was fired from Century Biscuit. Management claimed that he was over an hour late to work, while Westbrook said he had been 20 minutes late. Management also claimed they were not aware that Westbrook had been elected president of the Union when they fired him, although his election had been covered in the Sunday edition of the Indianapolis Star. The new union felt that Century Biscuit was already trying to suppress their right to collective bargaining and unanimously voted to strike at a meeting Tuesday night, April 10.
The strike began the morning of Wednesday, April 11 and quickly caught the attention of several newspapers, especially since the factory produced army rations. For the workers, the strike was about their leader and their right to have their new union formally recognized. They wanted the owners of Century Biscuit to resolve the issue through negotiations with the union’s grievance committee.
The strike continued for four days, ending the evening of Sunday, April 15, with management and the union agreeing to settle the dispute through the War Labor Board. Employees went back to work on Monday, April 16. The union may not have actively improved their conditions through this action, but they asserted their right to unionize and showed the power they held over the company due to the workers' importance in the production process.
630 W New York Street Today
The Century Biscuit Company factory building was torn down between 1993 and 1997. A surface parking lot for IUPUI (Lot 85) is now located in its place.
Written by Nancy Yerian
Edited by Hannah Ryker, May 29, 2020