The women's day massacre was an event that took place on June 19, 1937, in Youngstown, Ohio. Members of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) were protesting Little Steel Management to receive recognition for their union organization. In March 1937, U.S. Steel had agreed to recognize the union, but the smaller Republic Steel refused to follow suit. Republic's anti-union chairman, , defied labor laws and used force to intimidate workers, firing over a thousand union supporters. These actions led to workers striking at steel mills across several states in the Little Steel strike and to an intense class battle. The strike went beyond picketing when steelworkers' wives joined the demonstration alongside their husbands in an event deemed "Women's Day".