Little Steel strike marked 70 years later

Two local strikers were killed in the 1937 effort to unionize steel mills.

By ANGIE SCHMITT

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — A symbol of the city’s role in the labor movement was to be reintroduced today in a new home in front of the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor, 151 W. Wood Street.

The Ohio Historical Society marker commemorating the Little Steel strike of 1937 once stood on Federal Plaza, as a reminder of the estimated 20,000 workers who took part in the violent, and ultimately unsuccessful struggle to organize workers of the “Little Steel” companies.

The marker was removed to make way for construction when Federal Street underwent renovations in 2004, said Claire Maluso, Youngstown community outreach coordinator. Historians had begun to question the logic of returning the marker to its original site by the time the Federal Street project was complete, she said.

“Some of the preservationists thought that this belongs near the steel museum, and it does,” she said. “I think it really adds” to the museum.

Its unveiling was to follow 10 a.m. remarks from union representatives, local history experts and city leaders. The marker provides a brief synopsis of the strike, proclaiming: “This marker commemorates those workers who gave their last full measure of devotion so that all workers would have a right to bargain for their labor.”

The strike

Steel workers in Youngstown, Warren and Niles played a leading role in the “Little Steel” strike of 1937. The strike was an attempt on the part of the newly formed Committee for Industrial Organizations to negotiate a contract with Republic Steel, Youngstown Sheet and Tube, Inland Steel and Bethlehem Steel. The companies were known collectively as “Little Steel” — a title that distinguished them from the steel dominant producer, U.S. Steel Corp.

On May 26, Mahoning Valley strikers brought local mills to a halt with a relatively new tactic known as the sit-down strategy. Strikers choose to remain in their workspaces but refused to perform their duties, preventing steel companies from bringing in outside laborers. The practice also discouraged mill owners from hiring private security forces to intimidate the workers, as a dispute inside the mill would threaten company property.

Supporters of the effort airlifted food to encamped strikers.

The situation reached a head when two strikers were killed in a standoff between local police and pickets that erupted in violence. Fourteen others were injured, according to the Ohio Historical Society.

Meanwhile, the anti-labor contingent was carrying out a campaign in opposition to the strikers. To advance the “back to work” perspective, the Citizens’ Committee was established in Youngstown and the John Q. Public League was established in Warren. These groups were headed by business leaders and steel supporters, many of whom had ties to the mills, according to “Labor Conflicts in the United States,” by Ronald Fillippelli.

Back to work

Under political pressure from anti-labor groups such as these, Gov. Martin Davey ordered Ohio National Guard to the mills. By June 22, Youngstown Sheet and Tube announced its reopening. News reports said workers returned to the mills in peace, though strikers stood by waving banners that said, “They shall not pass.”

The reopening of Youngstown Sheet and Tube was the beginning of the end for the “Little Steel” strike. In mills from South Chicago to Bethlehem, Pa., smoke began pouring from stacks again.

Although many anticipated mill owners’ 1937 victory would strike a fatal blow to the newly formed labor CIO, the group continued to pursue charges of unfair labor practices before the National Labor Relations Board. It later joined the American Federation of Labor to become the modern AFL-CIO.

By 1941, Republic Steel, Youngstown Sheet and Tube and Inland Steel had all signed union contracts, according to the Ohio Historical Society.