On this day in labor history, the year was 1952.
That was the day 100,000 oil refinery workers went on strike.
The work stoppage was called by a coalition of 22 unions, including AFL and CIO affiliates and independent unions.
They demanded a 25-cent hourly wage increase with shift differentials.
Shutdowns began at once and picket lines went up as soon as procedures were safely completed.
The strike threatened to cut production in half.
Union leaders called all but California refinery workers out, who were central to the war effort in Korea.
Oil barons had given refinery workers the run around for eight months during contract negotiations.
The union had even postponed the original strike date in March to give Federal Mediation a chance at effecting a settlement.
When this failed, President Truman brought the case to the Wage Stabilization Board, which issued a ruling favorable to the industry.
Eighty companies demanded separate hearings for all 200 bargaining units involved.
The union wanted one hearing for all.
Even after this victory for the oil companies, they then refused to attend the hearings!
When the Board threw up its hands in mid-April, the new strike deadline was set.
Eight days into the strike, the Board ordered oil workers back to work, which they flat out refused.
The Oil Workers Union stated “Strikers are fighting against a stacked deck… if corporation executives are permitted to ignore workers needs, then to manipulate the government so the right to strike is denied, collective bargaining will be destroyed.”
The Board then set a 15-cent an hour wage cap and shift differentials. Workers were back on the job by the end of the month, having avoided possible Taft-Hartley actions from President Truman.
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January 31 - The Big Easy Fires 7000 Teachers
January 30 - Fred Korematsu Day
January 29 - Bread & Roses Striker, Anna LoPizzo, Shot Dead
January 28 - The 1917 Bath Riots
January 27 - Bans on Yellow Dog Contracts Ruled Unconstitutional
January 26 - Sid Hatfield Stands Trial
January 25 - Solidarity Works!
January 24 - Arturo Alfonso Schomburg is Born
January 23 - If Poison Doesn’t Work, Try Briggs!
January 22 - Tragedy in the Mines & in the Union Hall
January 21 - On Strike for Health & Dignity
January 20 - The Flint Womens Emergency Brigades
January 19 - A Snapshot in Misery
January 18 - Is Colorado in America?
January 17 - Standing Against Wage Theft
January 15 - We Want to Live, Not Just Exist
January 14 - The Rise of the Bellamyites
January 13 - Johnny Cash Plays Folsom Prison
January 12 - The Cost of Wartime Industrial Peace
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