As negotiations broke down around 8 p.m. on June 30, 1979, the city prepared to go to court on Monday to get an injunction against walkouts in the police, fire, water and sewage departments. In an unprecedented show of union strength and solidarity, a very tough call was made by city workers, including the police department. City workers walked off the job early on the rainy Sunday morning of July 1, 1979. On this 45 year anniversary, we look back at this tumultuous time; what happened and what were the consequences. Click here for a newspaper history of the strike.

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Because police, fire and other municipal strikes have the capability of igniting anarchy, in 1983 the Ohio Public Employees’ Collective Bargaining Act was created to promote order and stability in public sector labor relations.