The 1943 Steel Strike Against Wartime Wage Controls

Because of its potential for disruption of war production, the 1943 steel strike was among the most important wartime disputes. It directly challenged the government's wage control policy, prompted unprecedented state intervention, and finally resulted in a restructuring of the National War Labour Board. Union organizing and economic objectives were in direct conflict with government anti-inflation policy and a federal enquiry was unable to devise a solution. Eventually, Mackenzie King who was sympathetic to the strikers' position and sensitive to CCF growth, was able to arrange a settlement. Subsequently, the settlement was repudiated by the NWLB and union-government relations were further exacerbated.