On this day, 21 January 1946, the largest strike in United States history took place when 750,000 steelworkers at over 1200 plants across 30 states went on strike.
It was part of a massive strike wave in the country in the wake of World War II. The first six months of 1946 were described by the US Bureau of Labour Statistics as “the most concentrated period of labor-management strife in the country’s history,” with just under three million workers walking out.
On February 18, around 550,000 steelworkers returned to work after their employers agreed to increase their pay by 18 ½ cents per hour. The other workers mostly remained out, until their employers also caved in to the pay demands. Steelworkers in Huntington, West Virginia, for example remained on strike until April 7.
Find out more about the post-war strike wave in this excellent book about US mass strikes: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/strike-jeremy-brecher https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1904540776397730/?type=3