October 4 Truman Takes Control of the Nation’s Oil Refineries

On this day in Labor History the year was 1946.  That was the day President Harry Truman issued Executive Order 9639.  It ordered the US Navy to seize control of more than four dozen oil refineries across the country.  As World War II was drawing to a close, workers in many industries were growing increasingly restless. They had seen company owners rake in record profits, and the workers felt they had not received their fair share.