![]() The strike ended with the complete defeat of the unions. At a time when communists were seizing power in Hungary and were staging a revolt in Germany, and workers in Italy were seizing factories, some industrialists feared that the steel strike was the first step toward overturning the industrial system. The steel industry's leaders regarded the strike as a radical conspiracy to get the company to pay a 12-hour wage for 8 hours' work. From management's perspective, the steel strike represented the handiwork of radicals and professional labor agitators. About 350,000 steelworkers in 24 separate craft unions went on strike as part of a drive by the American Federation of Labor to unionize the industry. But the most tumultuous strike took place in the steel industry. Police officers in Boston went on strike, touching off several days of rioting and crime. The year began with a general strike in Seattle. The number of striking workers would not be matched until the Depression year of 1937. Over 4 million workers-one fifth of the nation's workforce-participated in strikes in 1919, including 365,000 steelworkers and 400,000 miners. The war's end, however, was accompanied by labor turmoil, as labor demanded union recognition, shorter hours, and raises exceeding the inflation rate. An 8-hour day was instituted on war contract work, and by 1919, half the country's workers had a 48-hour work week. Many unions won recognition, and the 12-hour workday was abolished. Organized labor had grown in strength during the course of the war. The Steel Strike of 1919 became the focal point for profound social anxieties, especially fears of Bolshevism. A steel strike that began in Chicago in 1919 became much more than a simple dispute between labor and management. Food prices more than doubled between 19 clothing costs more than tripled. The years following the end of World War I were a period of deep social tensions, aggravated by high wartime inflation. Digital History Printable Version Postwar Labor Tensions
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