| 1952 Steel Strike | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Labor Unions | |||
| Date | April 9 – July 24, 1952 (72 years ago) | ||
| Location | United States | ||
| Parties | |||
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| Number | |||
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The 1952 steel strike was a strike by the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) against U.S. Steel (USS) and nine other steelmakers. The strike was scheduled to begin on April 9, 1952, but US President Harry Truman nationalized the American steel industry hours before the workers walked out. The steel companies sued to regain control of their facilities. On June 2, 1952, in a landmark decision, the US Supreme Court ruled in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579 (1952), that the President lacked the authority to seize the steel mills. The strike involved 560,000 workers.[1]
The Steelworkers struck to win a wage increase. The strike lasted 53 days and ended on July 24, 1952, on essentially the same terms that the union had proposed four months earlier.[2]
- ^ "Analysis of Work Stoppages During 1952" (PDF). Bureau of Labor Statistics: 19.
- ^ Marcus, Truman and the Steel Seizure Case: The Limits of Presidential Power, 1977, p. 253.