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Youngstown Little Steel Strike Telegrams

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Title	Youngstown Little Steel Strike Telegrams
Subject	Ohio Government Presidents and Politics Business and Labor Steel industry Labor unions United Steelworkers of America Steel Workers Organizing Committee (U.S.) Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945
Place	Youngstown (Ohio) Mahoning County (Ohio)
Description	These two telegrams, from Ohio Governor Martin Davey and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, were sent to Frank Purnell, president of the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company during the 1937 "Little Steel" Strike. The telegrams measure 8.5" by 11" (21.59 by 27.94 cm). Davey's one-page telegram from June 9, 1937 requested Purnell's presence at a joint conference between employers and union leaders at the Governor's Mansion in Columbus. Roosevelt's one-paragraph telegram from June 21, 1937 seconded the recommendation of the Steel Mediation Board to close the Youngstown plant on the following day to promote public safety and in the interest of a "reasonable and peaceful settlement which should be expected and can be attained." In June 1936 the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers and the Committee for Industrial Organization (C.I.O.) agreed to a joint effort to organize the steel industry. This led to the formation of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (S.W.O.C.). Soon after the first representatives from the S.W.O.C. arrived in the Mahoning Valley to begin their organizing efforts. On March 26, 1937 the organizing committee signed a contract with U.S. Steel, the nation's largest steel producer. Six weeks later the second largest steel company in the country, Jones & Laughlin, followed the example of U.S. Steel. Following these victories the S.W.O.C. increased its efforts at reaching agreements with the smaller companies known as the "Little Steel" companies: Republic Steel, Inland Steel, and Youngstown Sheet and Tube. Talks between the organizing committee and the steel companies broke down and on May 26, 1937 approximately 25,000 Mahoning Valley steelworkers walked off their jobs from Republic Steel and Youngstown Sheet and Tube. Most of the mills shut down with the start of the strike. However, Republic Steel kept their Warren and Niles plants open using non-striking steelworkers. This led to a number of violent confrontations outside the mills. With no end to the strike in sight, Youngstown Sheet and Tube and Republic Steel announced on June 21 that the mills will be re-opened for those workers wanted to return to work. Fearing the violence that would follow attempts to re-open the plants, Ohio Governor Martin Davey ordered National Guard troops to the Mahoning Valley and on June 22 nearly 2,000 National Guardsmen arrived in Youngstown and Warren. The arrival of the National Guard signaled the beginning of the end of the strike. On June 25 striking steelworkers began returning to work under the protection of the National Guard. The steel companies also began hiring new workers to replace those who remained on strike. Soon the mills were running at near full capacity and most of the striking steelworkers had returned to their jobs. On July 6 the National Guard reduced its presence in the Mahoning Valley and the strike was effectively over.
Creator	Davey, Martin Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945
Date of Original	1937
Source	Published material SMC 5143
Submitting Institution	Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor
Type	Text

Title	Om1648_1913408_001
Rights	For rights and reproduction requests, go to the Ohio Historical Society's Audiovisual and Graphic Reproduction Services page at http://www.ohiohistory.org/resource/audiovis/photodup.html; Online access is provided for research purposes only. For rights and reproduction requests or more information, go to http://www.ohiohistory.org/images/information
File Name	Om1648_1913408_001.tif
Image Height	3290
Image Width	2519
File Size	831.336 KB
Full Text	lESTERl TJKION TELEGRAM C 0 P , Y Govt.- THE IHITE HOUSE fCiSHIIGTOI D C JUNE 21, lis 22 P.M. J. ¥. PUENELL, ERESIDMT, YOUNGSTOWN SHEET AW TUBE CO YOUNGSTOWN THE SECRET.4RY OF LABOR HAS ADVISED IE THAT THE STEEL IffiDIATlOI BOARD COIMA OF WHICH ffi. CHARLES P. TAFT IS CHAIRJIAN COlSa HAS REQUESTED YOU NOT TO OPEN YOUR YOUNGSTOTIN PLANT TOMORROW TUESDAY MORNING PERIOD IN THE PROMOTION OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND IN THE INTEREST OF A REASONABLE AND PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT WHICH SHOULD BE EXPECTED AND CAN BE ATTAIItED COWiA I EARNESTLY JOIN WITH THE BOARD IN THIS REQUEST TO YOU PERIOD FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

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Youngstown Little Steel Strike Telegrams

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