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The steel strike of 1959 was a 1959 labor union strike by the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) against major steel-making companies in the United States. The strike occurred over management's demand that the union give up a contract clause which limited management's ability to change the number of workers assigned to a task or to introduce new work rules or machinery which would result in reduced hours or numbers of employees. The strike's effects persuaded President Dwight D. Eisenhower to invoke the back-to-work provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act. The union sued to have the Act declared unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court upheld the law.〔Shils, "Arthur Goldberg: Proof of the American Dream," ''Monthly Labor Review,'' January 1997.〕 The union eventually retained the contract clause and won minimal wage increases. On the other hand, the strike led to significant importation of foreign steel for the first time in U.S. history, which replaced the domestic steel industry in the long run.〔Tiffany, ''The Decline of American Steel: How Management, Labor, and Government Went Wrong,'' 1988.〕 The strike remained the longest work stoppage in the American steel industry until the steel strike of 1986. ==Background== USWA founding president Philip Murray died in November 1952, and David J. McDonald was named acting president by the USWA executive board. Although observers felt that Murray had intended to push McDonald out of the union, his sudden death left McDonald in a position to take control. In 1953, the USWA executive board named McDonald president.〔Daniels, "David J. McDonald, Retired Head of Steelworkers Union, Dies at 76," ''The New York Times,'' August 9, 1979; Herling, ''Right to Challenge: People and Power in the Steelworkers Union,'' 1972.〕〔"Man of Steel," ''Time'', July 9, 1956; Kelly and Beachler, ''Man of Steel: The Story of David J. McDonald,'' 1954.〕 As president, McDonald emphasized enhanced fringe benefits. The election of Dwight Eisenhower as president and Republican majorities in the United States Congress (at least from 1952 to 1954) made expansion of social programs unlikely (but Eisenhower indeed did extend many of Roosevelt's programs). Subsequently, McDonald focused negotiations on benefits such as unemployment compensation, health insurance, pensions, tuition reimbursement and other items. Throughout the 1950s, however, McDonald felt an intense rivalry with the United Auto Workers (UAW). The UAW often won better wage and benefit packages than the Steelworkers, and were able to obtain the closed shop. McDonald's negotiating stands often reflected this inter-union jealousy.〔〔Fink, ''Biographical Dictionary of American Labor,'' 1984.〕 McDonald led the Steelworkers out on strike in 1956, winning substantial wage increases, unemployment benefits, lay-off rights, and improved pensions.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「steel strike of 1959」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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