| Repository: | Western Reserve Historical Society |
| Creator: | United Steelworkers of America, District 28 |
| Title: | United Steelworkers of America, District 28 Records |
| Dates: | 1937-1955 |
| Extent: | 0.40 linear feet (1 container) |
| Abstract: | District 28 of the United Steel Workers of America is an organization of steelworkers' locals in northern Ohio, including Cleveland, Lorain, and Akron. The collection consists of membership lists, contracts, wage rate lists, correspondence, and clippings. |
| MS Number | MS 4165 |
| Location: | closed stacks |
| Language: | The records are in English |
The United Steelworkers of America, District 28 (f. 1942), is an AFL-CIO organization of steelworkers' locals in the Cleveland, Ohio, area (including Lorain and Akron). The earliest Cleveland steelworkers' unions date to the late 1870s with the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers, which was active locally until 1892. Attempts to organize steel industry-wide, most notably in 1919, failed until the late 1930s. The Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) formed in 1936 and in the spring of 1937 was recognized by United States Steel. Refusal by smaller corporations, particularly Republic Steel, to recognize the union led to the Little Steel Strike in 1937 and delayed organization of half the steel workforce until 1942. In May 1942, 1,700 representatives of SWOC met at Public Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, to officially form the United Steelworkers of America. Organizers in District 28 included James C. Quinn, Dave and Alex Balint, James C. Adams, Mike Yanak, Jack Ferline, and William Donovan. Donovan was district director until 1953 and purged the union of leftist influence, expelling the Balint brothers in the process. He also worked to put down a series of wildcat strikes that plagued the union in the 1940s. The union led major strikes in 1956 and 1959, the latter lasting 116 days. From 1981 to 1985 membership in District 28 fell from 47,000 to 26,000. The decline in the steel industry led the United Steelworkers of America to fight a defensive battle for job security and wage maintenance as in a 1986 strike in Lorain.
The United Steelworkers of America, District 28 Records, 1937-1955, consist of membership lists, contracts, wage rate lists, correspondence, and newspaper clippings.
This collection pertains mainly to membership in Untied Steelworkers of America locals 1098 and 1157 and to wage rates of various steel industry jobs in Cleveland and northeast Ohio. Those studying the history of the labor movement and the steel industry in Cleveland will find this collection useful.
None.
Related MaterialResearchers should also consult MS 3790 Anthony DiSantis Papers; MS 3799 Marvin C. Harrison Papers; and MS 4949 Republic Steel Company Records.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4165 United Steelworkers of America, District 28 Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
United Steelworkers of America, District 28, 1976.
Processed by Dan Ashyk in 1988.