1936 Akron Rubber Strike

During the Depression era, five strikes against many of Akron's rubber companies culminated in a giant sit-down strike against Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, the industry's leader, in February and March 1936. The fledgling United Rubber Workers, created in September 1935, used the tactic of being at work but not working that rank-and-file workers had pioneered in a successful 1934 strike against the General Tire and Rubber Company. After a peaceful month-long strike, the United Rubber Workers won recognition from Goodyear and reached a settlement on March 22. The 1936 Akron Rubber Strike was one of the earliest successes for the Committee for Industrial Organization, sparking a wave of industrial organizing and similar strikes in 1936 and 1937. The sit-down strategy extended beyond the rubber industry and was instrumental in the founding of the industrial union movement in the United States.

Akron, Ohio · United States