On this day in labor history, the year was 1916.
That was the day of the Youngstown Massacre.
It was World War I and the demand for steel in war production had skyrocketed.
Steel workers at Republic Steel went on strike in late December of 1915 to demand a wage hike and overtime pay.
They also wanted a decrease in the workweek to 48 hours and improved safety.
Workers at Youngstown Sheet and Tube soon followed.
The number of striking workers grew to well over 13,000.
It was on this day that some 6,000 strikers, their wives and children gathered at the bridge across from the gate at Youngstown Sheet & Tube, intent on stopping scabs from entering the plant.
Guards at the mill left company property to confront strikers at the bridge and began attacking them with tear gas and live ammunition.
The upheaval would soon spread to the business district of East Youngstown.
By the time the dust settled the next morning, several blocks of businesses were destroyed, while at least 3 strikers lay dead, another 30 seriously injured at the hands of company hired guns.
National Guard troops were called in to quell the disturbances.
A grand jury convened to determine the cause of the disorder.
They ruled that over 100 companies were in violation of the state’s Valentine Anti-Trust Act and conspired to keep wages down in the steel industry.
They held the actions of Youngstown Sheet and Tube primarily responsible for the death and destruction that reigned over the city.
The strikers won an immediate 10% wage increase and better company housing.
But the court dismissed the grand jury’s findings.
It would be decades before the industry finally unionized.
January 10 - The Rise of Settlement Houses
January 9 - Courts Stand Against Workers
January 8 - Oil Workers Walk Out Across the Country
January 7 - Tragic Youngstown Massacre
January 6 - Remembering Ida Tarbell
January 5 - Ohio First to Enact Black Laws
January 4 - Standing Up by Sitting Down
January 3 - The Power of Folded Arms and Marching Feet
January 2 - A Nation Fed Up, Strikes Back
January 1 - Transit Workers Push Back
December 31 - The Fight for Safer Working Conditions
December 30 - The Day Mines Were Made Safer
December 29 - The Day Work Was Made Safer
December 28 - Heroes in Space
December 27 - Musicians Fight Back
December 26 - Garment Workers Rise Up
December 25 - Debs Released; Real Gift is His Message
December 24 - A Christmas Eve Beating for Striking Workers
December 23 - The High Cost of Low Wages
December 21 - Red Scare Deportations Begin
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