Everything old is new again. Michael Quill (1905-1966)

Following is the story of Mike Quill. Before you click out of this very long post, let me explain why his biography is important today.

As a young mother I would watch the evening news hoping there would be no major delays on the subways or railroad. When the subway strike started in the early 60s I watched in disbelief as this little man with the weird accent seemed to be holding all the cards. Why does he have so much say?? Why does he have anything to say? He appeared loud and stubborn. All I cared about was having my husband home. He worked in New York City and I was home with two babies.

If you read about Mike Quill, you will see that his effort was genuine for his fellow workers. He ultimately gave his life for his beliefs.

America is at an important crossroad today. This time there is no Mike Quill to wage a good fight for workers.

His name came easily to me after all these years. His biography is interesting;  today I have deep respect for his dedication, even though I didn’t much appreciate him in the 60s. 


Michael Quill (1905-1966)

Mike Quill was born in Kilgarvan Co. Kerry on September 18, 1905. He attended primary school in Kilgarvan. School attendance was compulsory at the time for children between the ages of six and fourteen.  However, no funding was included for teaching Irish, the national language. Being born in a Gaeltacht area, Quill was a fluent Irish speaker.

Gaeltacht areas in Ireland are located up and down the west coast where the native language survived because these areas were remote, therefore, historically outside the British sphere of influence or interest.

By the time Quill reached age fourteen Ireland's War of Independence (1919 -1921)  was well underway.  The Quill family were staunchly Republican and very much engaged in fighting the British army and the 'Black-and-Tans,' the criminal elements recruited by the British to terrorize the Irish populace.  The teenage Quill was a dispatch rider  for the Kerry No. 2 Brigade of the Irish Republican Army. His  uncle's house, also in Kilgarvan, was so renowned for its revolutionary sympathies that the British occupying garrison of Black-and-Tans derisively nick-named it "Liberty Hall."

When the British drafted the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, without the prior approval of the Dail (Irish parliament), by the delegation sent to London by deValera (first prime minister of Irish Free State), it caused a split within the Republican movement. That split pitted those who accepted the treaty against those who opposed it. Quill fought with the anti-treaty forces. They viewed the Treaty as a betrayal of the men and women of 1916 who fought for a free and sovereign 32-county Irish Republic, not a divided nation with dominion status within the British Empire. The infamous treaty that Quill and his comrades so vehemently opposed copper-fastened (solidified) the partition of Ireland and set the stage for sectarianism, ethnic cleansing and an ongoing conflict that continued until the British departed Ireland's shores.

Once the Civil War ended in 1923,  Quill worked as a carpenter's apprentice, then a woodcutter in a Kenmare saw-mill. He and his brother were fired for staging a sit-in against working conditions. He was blacklisted for fighting on the side of the Republican anti-treaty forces, and emigrated to New York, arriving on March 16, 1926. He made his home there for the next 40 years.

Quill’s first job was on the construction of  the IND (Independent) Subway system. Over the years he held various jobs including that of a change-maker on the Interboro Rapid Transit (IRT)  system. Times  were tough and jobs scarce as the country was in the grip of the great depression. Those fortunate enough to have jobs were exploited and required to work 12-hour days, seven days a week if they wanted to hold on to their jobs.

These intolerable working condition, coupled with the brutality of the callous enforcers, known as beakies, on the payroll of the owners, reminded Mike of the inhuman conditions endured by the earlier 19th century Pennsylvania coal miners including the 'Molly Maquires' . Inspired by a past generation of great Irish labor leaders  including Jim Larkin and James Connolly he set about organizing the IRT workforce. The fact that he had worked in most, if not all, of the change booths in the system was an invaluable asset as he got to know many of his fellow workers on a personal level.

Despite the best efforts of the owners and their enforcers, Mike continued to agitate for the right to organize the workforce. Without the help of a tough group of transit workers, many of whom were Irish-born fellow republicans, he would not have succeeded in his quest to set-up what was to become the Transport Workers Union. Two of Mike's staunchest allies and fellow organizers during these difficult and dangerous years were Austin Hogan from Cork and Gerald O'Reilly from Meath. They were more than a match for the beakies.

On April 12, 1934, the Transport Workers Union of America came into existence with just 400 workers. Mike and his band of dedicated union organizers continued the fight to represent all transit workers and were eventually successful in organizing and representing all 14,000 IRT employees. From there the TWU went on to represent the Brooklyn Manhattan Transit workers and by 1937 the union represented, in all, 45,000 transit workers. Towards the end of the 1940's the TWU included utility and airline workers. Quill was its president from its inception in 1934 until his death in 1966.

Years later in recalling their efforts to organize Quill said:

"We were no experts in the field of labor organization, but we had something in common with our fellow workers -- we were all poor -- we were all overworked -- we were all victims of the 84 hour week. In fact, we were all so low down on the economic and social ladder that we had nowhere to go but up."

In 1937 he was elected to the New York City Council on behalf of the American Labour Party and on the final occasion on which he stood for the City Council in 1945, he was elected on the first ballot.

Amongst his friends were staunch Irish Republicans including Mike Flannery and George Harrison. Quill never forgot his Irish Republican past nor the sad fact that his homeland remained a divided land with the Union Jack flying high over six of its 32 counties. Apart from Flannery and Harrison, Mike had many other friends who were also active in the centuries-old quest to rid Ireland of the British scourge that blights its landscape and divides its people. Over the years Mike supported that cause in so many ways. He did not seek recognition or accolades for his contributions or efforts : he was happy to be a silent partner.

Apart from his union comrades and fellow crusaders, Mike had many other friends some of whom, as he himself,  were notable for their courage and dedication to improving the human condition.  One of those of whom we all know was the Reverend Martin Luther King, the civil rights leader.  In response to a protest letter from TWU airline workers in Tennessee protesting against the union’s support for the civil rights desegregation campaign, Mike invited Martin Luther King to address that year’s union convention. Such was his courage and dedication to the rights of his fellow man.

In summing up his philosophy of life,  Quill offered the following;

"I believe in the Corporal Works of Mercy, the Ten Commandments, the American Declaration of Independence and James Connolly's outline of a socialist society … Most of my life I've been called a lunatic because I believe that I am my brother's keeper. I organize poor and exploited workers, I fight for the civil rights of minorities, and I believe in peace. It appears to have become old-fashioned to make social commitments -- to want a world free of war, poverty and disease. This is my religion."

In 1966 Quill led the memorable transit workers strike in NYC.  When served with an injunction from a judge prohibiting a strike and threatened with jail time he was quoted as saying,

"The judge can drop dead in his black robes. I don't care if I rot in jail. I will not call off the strike."

Quill and seven other leaders of the TWU and the Amalgamated Association, which joined in the stoppage, were imprisoned for contempt of court.  The union successfully held out for a sizeable wage increase for its members. Other unions followed suit demanding similar raises.

Michael  Quill, died suddenly at age 60 from a heart attack, three days after the union's victory celebration. He had an earlier heart attack while in jail for contempt. After a funeral Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral his casket draped by the Irish tricolor.

 He will be long remembered as a decent and courageous man,  who stood tall for the working man and woman irrespective of race, origin, religion or any other difference in the human form or condition that others would exploit for benefit or out of ignorance.

On the occasion of his death Reverend Martin Luther King paid Michael Quill the following tribute:

"Mike Quill was a fighter for decent things all his life -- Irish Independence, labor organization and racial equality. He spent his life ripping the chains of bondage off his fellow man. This is a man the ages will remember."