"Little Steel" May 30, 1937 Memorial Day La Follette Commission Reports
A resolution to investigate violations of the right of free speech and assembly and interference with the right of labor to organize and bargain collectively.
Robert M. La Follette Jr. was a Wisconsin Senator who chaired the Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee Investigating Violations of Free Speech and the Rights of Labor. This committee was formed to investigate methods used by employers to avoid collective bargaining with unions.
Between 1936 and 1941, the committee had hearings that investigated private police systems, strikebreaking services, munitions in industrial warfare, and employers' associations to break strikes and disrupt legal organized union activities.
These reports document the hearings that investigated the incedent that occurred May 30, 1937 during the "Little Steel Strike" known as "The Memorial Day Massacre" where police killed ten unarmed demonstrators, permanently disabled others, and injured many more. (Click here to read more about the strike >>)
A Coroner's Jury declared the killings to be justifiable homicide. The public was outraged.
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