The 1943 rubber strike was a five-day strike from May 21–26 of nearly 50,000 rubber workers affiliated with the

United Rubber Workers of America The United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers of America (URW) was a labor union representing workers involved in manufacturing using specific materials in the United States and Canada. The union was founded in 1935 as the United Rubber ...

in U.S. state of Ohio. Centered on the city of

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

, 49,300 workers at the Firestone, General, Goodrich, and Goodyear companies went on strike. The strike contravened the "no-strike pledge" given by leaders of the

Congress of Industrial Organizations The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of Labor unions in the United States, unions that organized workers in industrial unionism, industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in ...

to the government at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in support of the war effort. On May 26, President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

sent union leaders a telegram describing the strike as "a defiance of the War Labor Board, a challenge to Government by law, and a blow against the effective prosecution of the war." Strikers returned to work the following day.

References

Labor disputes in Ohio Transportation labor disputes in the United States History of Akron, Ohio 1943 in Ohio 1943 labor disputes and strikes Rubber industry Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers of America Labour history of World War II May 1943 in the United States {{Ohio-stub

See also

References