'Atlanta transit strike of 1950' was the longest yet in
Atlanta,
Georgia.
A month after author
Margaret Mitchell was struck and killed by a
taxi during a year when trolleys had killed five, there was a call in the city to increase safety on city streets.
The city council passed an ordinance which required all cab and trolley drivers to apply for a permit.
It required a $5 fee and a fingerprint which was the only method at the time to trace criminal records.
The fingerprinting in particular was fought by
Jesse Walton, president of
Amalgamated Street Car Local 732, first in court cases which losses he appealed up to the
United States Supreme Court (who declined to hear).
Still not willing to comply, Walton called for a strike which began on
May 18,
1950.
Police Chief
Herbert Jenkins suspended all force vacations to staff downtown intersections all day long to handle the great increase in automobile traffic.
Mayor
William Hartsfield called for legalized
Jitney's (which required a similar permit) to help reduce some of the traffic.
The strike was to last 37 days and as Hartsfield's law was written, jitney permits were immediately revoked.
The union voted to get permits on
November 16,1950 and found themselves working for a new company, the
Atlanta Transit Company as Georgia Power used this opportunity to get out of the transit business.