Harry S. Truman photo

Statement by the President Upon Issuing Order Averting a Railroad Strike.

July 08, 1950

I HAVE today, by Executive order, taken over the transportation system of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company and have directed the Secretary of the Army to operate it in the name of the United States Government.

A strike by the Switchmen's Union of North America has forced this railroad to cease operations. This union has declined to accept the findings and recommendations of an emergency board created by the President under the Railway Labor Act. In the strike situation thus confronting us, governmental seizure is imperative for the protection of our citizens.

It is essential to the national defense and to the security of the Nation, to the public health and to the public welfare generally, that every possible step be taken by the Government to assure the operation of this railroad. I call upon every employee to cooperate with the Government by returning to duty. I call upon the officers of the Switchmen's Union of North America and such other labor organizations as may be affected to take appropriate action to keep their members at work.

The Executive order I have issued provides that, until further order of the President or the Secretary of the Army, the terms and conditions of employment in effect on this railroad at the time the strike began shall continue in effect, without prejudice to existing equities or to the effectiveness of such retroactive provisions as may be included in the final settlement of the dispute between the carrier and the workers.

Note: The President referred to Executive Order 10141 "Possession, Control, and Operation of the Transportation System of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company" (3 CFR, 1949-1953 Comp., p. 322).

The strike started on June 25 when 4,000 members of the Switchmen's Union of North America left their jobs on five midwestern and western carriers. On July 6 President Truman stated at his news conference that he might take drastic action because the walkout was tying up midwestern wheat and cattle shipments. As a result of this statement, the union called off the strike against four of the carriers but continued it against the fifth, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Co.

On September 1 settlement of the controversy was announced by Dr. John R. Steelman, Assistant to the President. The agreement included a wage increase of 23 cents an hour and acceptance of a 5-day workweek, the latter to be set aside for a period of at least 1 year.

Harry S Truman, Statement by the President Upon Issuing Order Averting a Railroad Strike. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/230946

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