1919 - Trolley Strike

 August 25, 1919 - Five men are killed and several more are wounded by police protecting Charlotte's streetcar barns against trolley workers who have walked off the job in a labor dispute, called a strike. Two weeks earlier streetcar operators demanded higher wages and group representation by a union. When the Southern Public Utilities Company hired replacement workers, called strikebreakers, violence began. The trolley strike is the worst violence in Charlotte's labor history.