J.N. Cheney

J.N. Cheney is an independent historian focusing on the labor movement, radical politics, and community action where he lives in the Mohawk Valley. His most recent book is Women, Immigrants, and the Working-Class Battle in Little Falls, New York: The Textile Strike of 1912-1913 (Algora Publishing, 2025).

7 Cents An Hour: The 1950 Utica Bus Strike

April 14, 2026 by J.N. Cheney 4 Comments

The twelve-day New York City transit strike in January 1966 is considered the first major citywide shutdown of subways and buses. About 33,000 workers, led by the Transport Workers Union, paralyzed the city on Mayor John Lindsay‘s first day in office.

This strike led to the creation of the still controversial 1967 Taylor Law (Public Employees’ Fair Employment Act), legislation that bars most New York State public employees from striking, or even expressing support for a strike, including state workers, teachers, and municipal employees. [Read more…] about 7 Cents An Hour: The 1950 Utica Bus Strike

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire & The Little Falls Textile Strike

February 22, 2026 by J.N. Cheney Leave a Comment

National tragedies have historically been the catalysts for massive shifts in matters such as culture and law. One such tragedy in the twentieth century was the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911.

An example of the gross negligence from factory owners so prominent in the industrial field and disregard for anything but profit, the Triangle Fire’s impact was so immense that it would ultimately serve as one of the primary catalysts that resulted in a massive labor strike in New York’s Mohawk Valley over a year later. [Read more…] about The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire & The Little Falls Textile Strike

Immigration and Labor in Little Falls, New York

February 11, 2026 by J.N. Cheney Leave a Comment

The rampant industrialism of the Gilded Age and early Progressive Era eventually took root in Little Falls, NY. The city and the surrounding Mohawk Valley had served as a hub for immigrant and migrant labor for a significant time. The construction of the Little Falls Canal and the Erie Canal during the 18th and 19th centuries attracted a multitude of predominantly Irish laborers.

In the latter half of the 19th century, as industrialism took hold, the mass construction of railroads attracted even greater numbers of immigrant workers to Little Falls in search of jobs within the burgeoning factory apparatus. [Read more…] about Immigration and Labor in Little Falls, New York

J.N. Cheney

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