Class Warfare at Kohler: The Longest Strike
1954 to 1961
Roger Bybee, labor columnist and longtime editor of Racine Labor has written an analysis of the longest strike in U.S. history, the United Auto Workers’ seven-year battle with the Kohler Corporation from 1954 to 1961. The strike was followed by four more years of legal skirmishing by the company and turned into a remarkable victory for the union and the national labor movement. The strike was centered in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, a town of about 50,000 located on the shores of Lake Michigan. Kohler, founded in 1873 to produce bathroom and kitchen fixtures, began as a company town, offering housing and amenities to workers. Read entire account.