On this day in labor history, the year was 1946.
That was the day Pennsylvania State Police attacked striking UE members at the gates of Westinghouse in East Pittsburgh.
200,000 UE members went on an industry-wide strike January 15 for a $2 a day raise.
They were on strike against the Big Three: GE, Westinghouse and the electric division at GM.
It was part of the post-war strike wave that brought millions out onto the picket lines nationwide.
By the middle of March, the UE had settled with GM and GE.
But 75,000 Westinghouse workers were still out on strike.
Westinghouse initially refused to negotiate at all.
When they made a first offer, they falsely claimed theirs matched the GE and GM agreements.
Federal mediators withdrew from the case in frustration, stating the company had made negotiations impossible.
Then on March 26, Alleghany County Sheriff Walter Monaghan and Governor Edward Martin called in 800 state troops.
Some were on horseback, others on foot detail. Many troops arrived in cars with machine guns and tear gas.
They patrolled the picket lines and nearby streets and set up roadblocks leading to the Westinghouse gates.
They began to forcibly disperse the crowd of 1000 picketers.
Then they ushered through several hundred non-production workers.
Some were pelted with eggs.
Others were struck in the face by some of the women strikers.
Three UE leaders were arrested for refusing to shut down their sound system they used to blast staffers for crossing picket lines.
The State Police stayed for the duration of the strike to enforce injunctions against mass picketing and ensure the crossing of picket lines.
The strike finally ended after 115 days with strikers winning an 18-cent an hour raise.
December 7 - Strong Arming Goldminers
December 6 - Breaking Through the Racial Divide
December 5 - Striking in Solidarity
December 4 - Organizing to End Slavery
December 3 - Learning & Labor at Oberlin
December 2 - 21st Century Corporate Greed
December 1 - Standing Up for Themselves and Their Patients
November 30 - Angel of the Stockyards is Born
November 29 - The Fight for $15 & A Union
November 28 - Disaster in the Mines
November 27 - Death Trap in Newark
November 26 - The Birth of William Sylvis
November 25 - Chicago Printers Walk Off the Job
November 24 - The Hollywood Ten
November 23 - The Thibodaux Massacre
November 22 - Uprising of the 20,000
November 21 - Autoworkers Join the Postwar Strike Wave
November 20 - Birth of the Time Clock
November 19 - Joe Hill’s Final Words
November 18 - Accident or Murder?
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