» PHOTOS: The violent Univis Lens strike of 1948 from the pages of the Dayton Daily News
Univis
Univis started in the 1920s, and built a new plant in north Dayton in the 1940s, employing about 800 workers at its peak.
In the 1940s the company moved into this new plant on the former site of McCook Field, 401 Leo Street, which was being developed in part as an early industrial park,
Credit: Lynch, Gregory
Credit: Lynch, Gregory
Univis made safety lenses, prisms, mirrors and instrumental optics, including for the military.
Their eyeglasses, including bifocals and trifocals, could be made in new plastic lenses that added lightness and comfort with durability and protection. They were named Safe-T-vis.
The strike
Workers for Univis were represented by local 768 of the United Electrical Workers (UE) union. At that time, the UE had approximately 30,000 members in the Dayton area, including workers from Frigidaire, Delco and GHR Foundry.
In 1948 the contract came up for renewal, but during 60 days of negotiations, the union and company could not reach an agreement.
The union asked for a 10-cent an hour wage increase and over a dozen other demands.
Union leadership recommended an extension to the contract and to continue negotiations. The majority of the workers disagreed and voted down the proposal.
The union voted twice on whether to strike. The first vote was deadlocked. The second vote passed 62-58 by members attending a strike meeting, and the strike was on.
The 658 production workers were ordered to the picket lines. Of those workers, 325 were members of the union.
Unvis posted several advertisements in the local newspapers, stating their position in an effort to gain public support.
The union countered by also posting their position in the newspaper.
Pickets turn violent
Replacement workers were escorted through the factory gates by police.
Union leaders claimed that police were taking bribes from Univis after frequent struggles between police and workers on the picket line.
On May 26, top union organizers were injured in a fight with police, and several picketers and protesters were arrested.
Not all the workers wanted to continue the strike. At one point, a “rebel group” of 45 percent of the 648 production workers at the plant voted for decertification of the union.
On June 15, the company began attempting a back-to-work movement. Between 300 and 400 workers wanted to respond to the back-to-work movement but were unable to enter the plant. More than a dozen police officers were called to the scene to calm things down. Those who had tried to report for work were told to go home.
Police presence continued to grow, with over one-third of the entire force eventually on site.
On July 27, picket line resistance flared into a near riot. Over two days, 11 people were arrested during another back-to-work movement in which an estimated 300 workers entered the plant. Nearly 100 police officers were called to the scene to assist workers trying to enter the plant.
The union threatened to cause other Dayton plants to have “mass sympathy walkouts,” causing those plants to shut down as well.
Other unions in the city were outraged at the violence. Workers from other factories and unions started joining the Univis strikers.
Chief Rudy Wurstner reported from the scene that local police no longer could cope with the labor dispute. Picket line crowds that had grown to the thousands overwhelmed the 160 police officers who were resorting to using tear gas.
Not only were there thousands of picketers, there were thousands more public spectators watching it unfold. Some estimated that 15,000 people in total were at the scene.
Ohio National Guard called in
Ohio Gov. Thomas J. Herbert called in the National Guard on Aug. 2. This was the first time in Dayton history that troops were used to put down a strike.
Mayor Louis Lohrey proclaimed the city in a state of emergency. It was the first time that the Ohio National Guard was called to Dayton since the Great Flood of 1913.
On Aug. 3, 1,200 guardsmen, armed with tear gas, machine guns and three Sherman tanks, arrived in Dayton to suppress the violence.
Soldiers with bayonets formed a line at the Univis plant to help escort workers in.
With the National Guard present, violence, demonstrations and the number of picketers dwindled.
The National Guard stayed until strikers went back to work.
End of the strike
On Aug. 4, Univis announced it would hire 150-200 new workers to replace strikers. About 50 applicants showed up the next day. All workers received an 11-cent raise.
On the night of Aug. 9, the union voted to accept a proposal very similar to one they had rejected on Aug. 1. Union leaders said the vote was unanimous.
The terms were that all but 11 employees would return at the same status as when they left. Everyone would get the 11 cent-per-hour raise. The union would be decertified and no longer represent the workers as bargaining agent. All picketing would stop.
On Aug. 10, workers returned to their jobs and the 14-week strike was over.
Aftermath of the strike
There are mixed reports on who “won” the strike.
Some accounts say Univis won the strike. Others say the strike ended with workers winning most of their demands.
Univis workers voted to oust the union as their bargaining agent. The International Union of Electrical Workers (IUE) was formed to take place of the EU.
In the early 1950s, Univis began relocating work from Dayton to a new plant in Puerto Rico. By 1954, the plant was up for sale
Univis left town in 1960 and the entire building was taken over by Koehler-Dayton Inc. Koehler had used the rear portion of the building since 1955.
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