Steelworkers strike over payday change
About 2,500 workers of the United Steelworkers Local 1415 began a strike on June 15, 1970, against Pullman-Standard over the company's change of payday. Butler Eagle file photo
About 2,500 workers of the United Steelworkers Local 1415 began a strike on June 15, 1970, when Pullman-Standard moved the day it issued paychecks to its workers from Thursday to Friday.
Union workers requested that employees working the afternoon shift that day not go into work, beginning a “wildcat” strike. Some employees did not go along with the request, which led to some altercations between workers.
Police arrested some of the striking workers, and scuffles broke out periodically over the course of the afternoon. Striking employees said they would not go back to work until the company agreed to issue paychecks on Thursday.
Members of United Steelworkers Local 1415 strike outside the Pullman-Standard plant on June 25, 1970, when their paychecks were delayed by a day by the company. Butler Eagle file photo