In 1938, African American women working in the seafood industry of Crisfield, Maryland, organized a historic labor strike that challenged unfair wages, racial discrimination, and the refusal of employers to recognize their union.

During the early twentieth century, Crisfield was an important center of the Chesapeake Bay seafood industry. Its crab-packing houses depended heavily on African American women who performed the demanding work of removing meat from cooked crabs.

Workers often spent long hours at packing tables and were paid according to the amount of crabmeat they produced. Their earnings were limited, and families depended on this work for economic survival.

The Great Depression made conditions even more difficult. Unemployment and financial hardship affected many families throughout Somerset County.

In early April 1938, Crisfield crab-packing companies announced a reduction in the amount paid to crab pickers. Historical accounts commonly describe a reduction from thirty-five cents to twenty-five cents per gallon of crabmeat.

The workers refused to accept the wage cut.

On April 6, 1938, approximately six hundred crab pickers, predominantly African American women, walked out of Crisfield's packinghouses.

The strikers demanded restoration of their previous wages and formal recognition of their union, associated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO.

Their collective action disrupted seafood processing operations and attracted attention to the difficult conditions facing Black women workers on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Shiloh United Methodist Church became an important meeting place and refuge for the striking workers. The church provided space for organizing activities and helped the women maintain their campaign.

The strike faced serious opposition from packinghouse owners, local political figures, businesses, and white vigilante groups.

Workers and union organizers experienced threats, intimidation, and violence. The homes of some strike leaders were invaded, and a union organizer's automobile was overturned and burned.

Food deliveries and other support intended for the striking families also faced interference.

Despite these conditions, the workers continued their strike for approximately five weeks.

Labor organizers and government officials became involved in negotiations as the dispute attracted broader attention.

By May 1938, continued pressure from the strike and the disruption of seafood processing encouraged packinghouse operators to negotiate an agreement.

On May 10, 1938, packinghouse owners signed an agreement restoring the workers' previous pay rate of thirty-five cents per gallon of crabmeat.

The agreement also formally recognized the cannery workers' union as a representative of the employees.

The settlement represented an important achievement for women workers who had challenged discrimination and unequal economic power through collective organizing.

The union continued to have a presence in Crisfield's seafood industry for decades.

For many years, the history of the strike received limited public recognition despite its importance to the labor movement and the local African American community.

The Holy Pickers Union Center, an organization connected to active and retired crab pickers, later worked with Shiloh United Methodist Church to preserve the story.

On May 10, 2024, the Maryland Department of Transportation and Maryland Historical Trust unveiled a roadside historical marker commemorating the strike and its participants.

The marker is located near Shiloh United Methodist Church, a site directly associated with the workers' organizing efforts.

Today, the Crisfield Crab Pickers' Strike is remembered as an important chapter in the struggle for workers' rights, African American civil rights, and women's leadership in labor organizing.

The determination of these women demonstrated how collective action could challenge unfair treatment and secure recognition for workers whose contributions were essential to their community's economy.