On this day in labor history, the year was 1941.
That was the day “The Battle at Bethlehem” began. 14,000 workers at Bethlehem Steel’s Lackawanna Mill in Buffalo, N.Y., walked out on strike.
The Steel Workers Organizing Committee, or SWOC, had been fighting to organize Little Steel for years.
‘Little Steel’ was a general term that referred to the smaller mills like Republic, Inland, Bethlehem and Youngstown Sheet & Tube.
At Bethlehem, SWOC was still waiting on a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals about the company union Bethlehem refused to give up, in defiance of the Wagner Act.
As a defense industry, Bethlehem had $1.5 billion worth of armament orders to fill.
And yet, they wouldn’t even pay the legal minimum wage mandated for government contracts.
Retired steel worker, Mitchell Scheffer recalled in a 1991 interview, "I went to work there in the late 1930s swinging a 20-pound sledgehammer to break iron billets," says the 81-year-old. "I got 40 cents an hour, six days a week, no vacations"
The last straw was when Bethlehem fired over 1000 workers.
Bethlehem claimed these particular workers damaged coke ovens when they engaged in a work stoppage.
Workers immediately formed solid picket lines at seven gates that stretched two miles.
They successfully beat back attempts by police to scab herd.
After 38 hours, Bethlehem quickly agreed to reinstate the 1000 workers.
They soon resumed talks regarding wage increases, grievance procedures and union recognition.
But a month later, Bethlehem decided to go back on their promises.
They started organizing elections for collective bargaining representatives through their company union.
The stage was set for the next big strike at Bethlehem in March that would finally win union recognition.
February 7 - Strike at Cripple Creek
February 6 - Philly Garment Workers Win!
February 5 - The Fight for Craft Governance
February 4 - Solidarity on the Coast
February 3 - Anti-Trust Injunctions Used Against Labor
February 2 - The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
February 1 - A Pivotal Moment in the Flint Sit-Down
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
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