Streator’s mines and glass plants produced coal and bottles, and they also produced one of the most powerful labor leaders in American history. Reuben G. Soderstrom led the Illinois labor movement for 40 years. Our History of Streator page mentions his statue; this page tells his story.
Child Labor and a Lonely Start
Reuben George Soderstrom was born on March 10, 1888, on a farm near Waverly, Minnesota, the second of six children of Swedish immigrants. His father’s farm failed, and at age 10 Reuben was sent to work for a blacksmith to help pay the family’s debts. Two years later he traveled alone to Streator, where wages were better. He worked on the trolley lines and in the glass factories. His sister Olga later wrote that he knew poverty and child labor firsthand, and the loneliness of being separated from his family so young.
The Printer’s Devil
Soderstrom eventually earned enough to bring his parents and siblings to Streator. At 16 he became a printer’s devil, a print-shop apprentice, at the Streator Independent Times. There he came under the wing of columnist John E. Williams, an early Illinois labor leader, who introduced him to labor economists and reformers. Soderstrom trained as a union linotype operator, worked around the Midwest, and returned to Streator in 1909. He married Jeanne Shaw on December 2, 1912.
Union Leader in Streator
He joined International Typographical Union Local 328 and rose quickly. In 1912 he was elected president of both his local and the Streator Trades and Labor Council. In 1914 he ran unsuccessfully for the state legislature on Theodore Roosevelt’s Progressive ticket. In 1918 he won a seat in the Illinois House as a Republican. He lost in 1920, largely because he opposed Prohibition, then won the seat back in 1922 and held it for 14 years.
The 1923 Fight
In 1923 Streator became a battleground in the National Association of Manufacturers’ “American Plan,” a national campaign to break unions through open-shop policies. Soderstrom led the local resistance in his strongly unionized hometown.
Forty Years at the Top
In Springfield he authored or guided major labor laws, including the Injunction Limitation Act (1925), a ban on “yellow dog” contracts (1933), and the One Day Rest in Seven and Old Age Pension acts (1935). He helped found what is now the University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations. In 1930 he was elected president of the Illinois State Federation of Labor, and he led it, and its successor, the Illinois AFL-CIO, until his death on December 15, 1970. That made him the longest-serving state federation chief in American labor history. Presidents sought his endorsement because of the more than a million workers he represented.
National Influence
Soderstrom’s influence went far beyond Illinois. He helped shape national labor policy after the AFL and CIO merged in 1955, and presidents of both parties sought his endorsement. Under his leadership, membership in the state federation grew about fivefold, making it one of the most powerful state labor bodies in the country. He never forgot where he started, and he often spoke about the child labor he had known in Streator’s factories.
Streator Remembers
On Labor Day weekend, September 2, 2012, Streator dedicated Soderstrom Plaza downtown, with a bronze statue by sculptor Lonnie Stewart. The Reuben G. Soderstrom Foundation has continued to support local causes, including a 2017 gift to the Streator Public Library.
Related Streator History
- Streator History Overview
- Streator Glass History: From Streator Bottle & Glass to Owens-Illinois
- Streator's Coal Mining Era: The Vermilion Coal Company and Its Miners
- Streator Newspapers and Radio: From the Free Press to WSPL
Sources
- Reuben G. Soderstrom – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuben_G._Soderstrom
- Streator, Illinois – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streator,_Illinois
- Streator Public Art – Soderstrom statue. https://www.streatorpublicart.com/art
- Streator Public Library – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streator_Public_Library
