On this day in Labor History the year was 1937.
It was a day that would become known as the Memorial Day Massacre.
Ten demonstrators were killed by police bullets, while protesting at Republic Steel, on the south east side of Chicago.
U.S. Steel, also known as “Big Steel” had signed a contract with the Steel Workers Organizing Committee, part of the CIO.
But several smaller companies known as “Little Steel” refused to recognize the union.
This included Republic Steel.
The union called for a strike against Little Steel.
In Chicago, sympathizers from all around the city gathered on Memorial Day at Sam's Place, a bar where the union set up its strike headquarters.
After a round of speeches, the crowd began a march across a field and toward the Republic Steel mill.
They were stopped midway by a formation of well-armed Chicago police officers.
While demonstrators at front of the procession were arguing for their right to proceed, police mercilessly fired into the crowd and tracked down people as they fled.
Mollie West, a Typographical Union Local 16 member and a youthful demonstrator at the time, remembered hearing the police scream: "Get off the field, or I'll put a bullet in your back."
Newsreel footage captured the barbaric and bloody scene.
The state’s attorney exonerated the police and their assault.
But a federal congressional committee found the police had indeed used excessive force.
Today there is a sculpture commemorate those who were killed.
The sculpture was created by Ed Blazak, a former employee of the Republic Steel company.
It features ten steel pipes each representing a smoke stack of the ten steel mills that once operated in the area.
They also represent the ten demonstrators who were executed for the crime of wanting a better life.
It was not until 1942 that Little Steel finally agreed to meet the union at the bargaining table.
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Labor History in 2:00 brought to you by the Illinois Labor History Society and The Rick Smith Show