• The 1913 Paterson Silk Strike began in the Doherty Mill in January of 1913 when weavers’ loom assignments were increased from two to four machines.
  • Weavers and other mill workers labored 55-hour work weeks in dangerous conditions. An eight-hour workday became the main demand of the strikers.
  • Dyers' helpers and other operatives joined the strike and, Paterson's nearly 300 silk mills were quiet by the end of February of 1913.
  • There was mass picketing. The solidarity of the workers was unprecedented.
  • The Paterson workers called on the radical union, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) to assist them in their struggle.
  • By the spring of 1913, the Paterson police had arrested many strikers and closed the workers' Paterson meeting halls. Only in Haledon could the workers meet to exchange news.
  • Meetings lead by IWW organizer Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (seated at right) continued through the spring of 1913 at the Haledon home of Pietro and Maria Botto.
  • 1913 strike meeting at Botto House
  • In March 1913, Valentino Modestino was on his porch with his infant daughter, when he was shot and killed by one of the O'Brine detectives, who had fired their guns on a group of strikers. No one was ever charged with the murder of Valentino Modestino.
  • A group of strikers posing for a picture. In many cases strikers were jailed for picketing.
  • In the early part of the 20th century, women would work in the mills. They worked long hours for little pay