Memorial Day Massacre

A breakthrough for steel workers would finally come in the 1930s when New Deal policies put the power of the federal government behind unionization efforts. However, this improvement came at a high price, depicted here in the “Memorial Day Massacre“. Republic Steel workers had been locked out by management rather than accepting workers’ demand for union recognition. Workers and their families were having a picnic on Memorial Day in 1936 when they were attacked by Chicago police. At least ten workers were killed, and many of their family members were injured. The video clearly shows it was the police who instituted the violence.