Paternalism and philanthropy

White Oak Mill with mill village, 1914

Like many other Southern textile companies during the early 20th century, the Cone Mills Corporation took a paternalistic approach towards its workers.^[5] The Cones sought to portray their company as primarily interested in promoting the general welfare of its employees—as opposed to being motivated by profits—and strove to maintain cordial relations with its workers without resorting to force.^[6] Their paternalism was often praised by contemporary observers and the local press.^[7]

At their peak, the Cone mill villages covered 450 acres (180 ha) and housed 2,675 workers in about 1,500 houses. It was the second largest mill community in the state, behind Cannon Mills' Kannapolis. Though incorporated into the city of Greensboro in 1923, the mill community lived largely separate lives from other city residents for decades.^[8] Many of the early workers had rural origins and reared livestock in the yards of their homes.^[9] East White Oak mill village housed African American workers. Until the 1960s, African Americans were restricted to menial jobs in Cone Mills facilities, such as work as janitors.^[10]

In 1944, an informal agreement between the company and the Greensboro city council dating to the villages' incorporation into the municipality allowing Cone Mills to pick the candidates for one of the council seats ended. Greensboro's social services were expanded into the villages, and the city assumed the responsibilities for law enforcement, garbage collection, and road maintenance in the area. It took over the mill schools and erected the community's first streetlights.^[11] The company sold off the village homes in the late 1940s.^[10]

From 1958 to 1969, Cone's factories furnished fabric for the wardrobes of the annual winner of the Miss North Carolina Pageant. They also provided fabric for the gowns each winner wore to the Miss America Pageant.^[1]

Unionization efforts and unrest

A Cone Mills basketball team in the 1920s. The corporation supported sports teams and other initiatives as part of its paternalistic efforts to bring "civilization" to its workers and ensuring their loyalty to the company.

Shortly after the opening of Proximity Mill in Greensboro, the National Union of Textile Workers attempted to organize workers in the Piedmont region.^[12] In response, Cone Mills directed dozens of operative to surreptitiously join the union and Caesar Cone declared that he would rather destroy the Proximity facility than negotiate with a union. In 1900 the union went on strike. He temporarily closed the mill and surrounding company stores and hired watchmen to patrol the nearby villages. When union members refused to leave their organization, Cone Mills evicted them and their families from the villages. This quickly led to the collapse of the local union, as unionists either lost their jobs and moved elsewhere or quit the organization and signed yellow-dog contracts with the company.^[13]

The 1900 strike damaged Cone Mills' public image. Seeking to restore the company's reputation and protect its increasing profitability, corporate leaders attempted to reform their relationship with the workforce and present themselves as benevolent managers with the aim of making the workforce more loyal to the company.^[14] To achieve this, members of the Cone family personally inserted themselves into the lives of the workers, often walking through the villages and greeting workers by name, handing out Christmas gifts to children, and individually intervening with troubled workers to provide them with money or wage increases.^[15] The company hosted large events and celebrations for its workers including an annual Fourth of July picnic, at which the Cones often delivered speeches.^[16] Cone Mills also established welfare programs, schools, and clinics and sponsored orchestras and sports teams with the aim of bringing "civilization" to their primarily rural workforce.^[9] After 1910 they focused on improving living conditions in the mill villages, paving streets and building new homes with running water and electricity and space for gardening. During World War I, when the labor market was tight, Cone Mills subsidized certain food products in its stores and worked to ensure availability for consumer products for its workers despite shortages.^[17]

Cone Mills' paternalistic approach towards its workers generally succeeded in maintaining positive labor relations from 1900 to 1925.^[18] While some workers did display individual discontent with their work and leave, many stayed knowing that conditions at other textile plants in the region were worse.^[19] In the 1920s demand for textile products declined. Cotton and tobacco prices plummeted, leading many farmers to approach mills for work. ^[20] Confronted with a labor surplus and a need to cut costs, in 1925 company leaders began cutting pay, laying off staff, and assigning the remaining workers more responsibilities. Workers referred to this strategy as the "stretch-out".^[21] Many workers felt betrayed by Cone Mills, and thereafter the company's paternalistic system became more fraught with conflict.^[22] Workers at the White Oak mills hosted several small strikes until an agreement to ease demands placed upon them was arbitrated.^[23]

At the same time as the stretch-out, Cone Mills began implementing other changes to the functioning of its mills, including the adoption of scientific management practices and introduction of new machinery. Following Caesar's death, his brother Bernard assumed leadership of the company and began hiring professional, college-trained supervisors, thus phasing out the longstanding practice of promoting from within.^[24] The Cones continued with many of their paternalistic practices as before, such as personally engaging with workers and hosting events, but relations between management and the workers were never fully restored.^[25]

Discontent persisted until May 1930, when one-third of Cone Mills' workforce attended a United Textile Workers of America (UTW) rally on the outskirts of Greensboro.^[26] A follow-up rally in June led to the formation of a UTW local union affiliate. In response, Cone Mills ordered the eviction of union members from their homes. UTW then shifted its strategy from criticizing stretch-outs to directly attacking the Cones' accumulated wealth and management style.^[27] Evictions continued throughout the summer, and the unionization drive eventually collapsed under a combination of pressure exerted by the Cones and the economic conditions of the Great Depression, which left mill workers with few alternatives.^[28] Despite the resolution in the company's favor, many workers' loyalty to the company was permanently shaken by the events. Challenges to the Cones' management continued throughout the 1930s and 1940s, aided by new labor protections introduced by the New Deal. After World War II, Cone Mills ended its pursuit of paternalism, selling off the mill villages, terminating its welfare programs, and shifting to a more detached style of worker management.^[29] In April 1951, over half of Cone Mills' unionized workers went on strike, leading the Dwight Manufacturing mill in Alabama to completely shut down.^[30]