They Knew How to Throw a Strike

We hardly ever see strikes like this any more.

From a safe distance, it is possible to be nostalgic about them.

Image result for Richard M. Nixon

On July 15, 1959, sixty years and half a week ago, half a million American steelworkers walked off the job at once. Nearly every steel mill in the US closed.

The steel companies demanded that the union give up a "contract clause," which limited managerial discretion in changing the number of workers assigned to a task, introducing new work rules, or automating of many tasks. The union insisted on keeping the contract clause, the talks broke down: hence the strike.

The Union won. The contract clause stayed in.

One key figure in resolving the stand-off? Vice President Nixon. With his own campaign imperatives for the following year in mind, and with the prospect of a major reversal in the economy if steel production stayed abysmal, Nixon adopted the mediators' role. He was instrumental in pressuring the managers to back down.

You didn't know this? It's good to learn. You did know? Well, until quite recently, I didn't.

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