On this Labour Day: literacy& The cigar makers of Ybor City

[El Presidente]

 

https://morristowngreen.com/2023/09/04/commentary-labor-and-literacy-the-cigar-makers-of-ybor-city/

Commentary: Labor and literacy: The cigar makers of Ybor City

Lector reading at Cuesta-Rey_Cigar Co.,Tampa, Fl, circa1929. Photo via Wikipedia

 

 

By Linda Stamato

It can be especially rewarding on Labor Day to look back at the history of work, and celebrate enlightened workplaces where one might least expect to find them.

A case in point: The cigar factories in Ybor City, FL.

Linda Stamato

There were several cigar factories created in the Tampa area during the first third of the 20th century. But the most prominent and well-known was established by Cuban industrialist Don Vicente Martinez Ybor. 

He contracted with the Tampa Board of Trade on Oct. 5, 1885, to locate his hand-rolled cigar manufacturing business, Ybor & Co., to what is now known as Ybor City.

Ybor purchased 40 acres northeast of Tampa, essentially a fishing village, and eventually built casitas, small houses his workers could purchase at cost. Ybor aimed to increase staff retention and improve worker satisfaction — what we might call “enlightened management.”

It was a stark contrast to most other work environments in the emerging industrial landscape at the time.

So, here is a brief history of a remarkable story, Ybor’s cigar factory.

THE CIGAR MAKERS AND THE LECTORS

Ybor’s factory floor became a classroom. Lectors held forth on the factory floor. Educated men from Havana, mostly, lectors were more than readers. They had great acting abilities and, reportedly, a vast capacity to entertain and to educate.

They were paid by the workers themselves, 25 cents a week by each worker. As many as 400 workers contributed, so the lector was among the highest-paid employees in the cigar industry, reportedly earning as much as $100 a week — a significant sum in those days!

There was a system to the reading. The first literary reading would be from the classics: Cervantes, Hugo, Shakespeare, or Molière. The second would be a popular novel, what we might call a “dime store novel.” The latter was chosen by a democratic process, as the workers voted on what novel was to be read.

The lectors also read selections from the Tampa Tribune before beginning the books, which meant that they had to rise early each day to translate the news to Spanish.

So the workers were exposed to popular novels, to the classics and they got to know what was going on in their community as well.

Since the lectors were their teachers, the workers looked to them for leadership. In time, the lectors also read from political tracts, which often contained arguments for workers’ rights. They supported unionization, better working hours, higher wages, medical benefits and pension funds. Enlightened indeed!

Ultimately, the owners banned the lectors from reading in the factories. Only so much enlightenment, I guess, could pass muster from a management perspective.

While they lasted, the lectors were, as Ferdie Pacheco dubbed them, “the rock ‘n’ roll stars” of Ybor City. A lector commanded the dignity and respect due an intellectual; they were sought out and their function more than legitimized their presence. The workers, too, were men of determination, dignified, respecting one another as they worked side by side and listened and learned.

The striking thing to me is this: Over the years, the cigar makers were transformed into the best-educated work force in the world.

It’s hardly surprising, then, to learn that Ybor city residents founded mutual aid societies, newspapers, labor organizations, social and civic organizations, and businesses—all with a unique Latin culture.

For colorful descriptions of what it was like to live in Ybor City during these times, consider reading the books of Ferdie Pacheco, who chronicled the spirit of the city.

THE END OF THE YBOR CIGAR FACTORIES

As with its impact elsewhere in America, the Great Depression brought about a downturn for the cigar industry, as demand dropped for luxury products like fine cigars.

Some factories closed. The tradition of hand-rolling cigars was severely curtailed, as factories moved towards modern forms of mechanized production. The industry also increasingly hired lower-paid female operators to reduce costs. Similar practices occurred in the garment industry as well.

Efforts to unionize workers often failed because of discrimination within the labor movement. Many cigar workers lost their jobs and left the city.

The city deteriorated as workers headed primarily for New York and Havana. In the 1950s, part of Highway I-4 was built through Ybor City. The nation invested in highway construction without regard to the impact on neighborhoods, dividing cities and destroying parts of them. The highway’s location added to the neighborhood’s further decline.

It’s no surprise to me that this experiment, short-lived though it was, has been celebrated and selected for an honorable place in the Library of Congress. On Labor Day, I like to think about these workers having the opportunity to enjoy work, and to gain so much more as a result of their special workplace and the lectors who read to them.

I’ll bet productivity didn’t suffer at all!

The cigar workers of Ybor City helped create a vibrant community that valued people. Educated and sensitive men who no doubt influenced their extended families, these workers were able to create the institutions that enlightened Ybor City. They made their workplace a cornerstone of an informed and engaged civil society.