PITTSBURGH WAS the site of one of the landmark gatherings of modern unionism — the founding on Nov. 14, 1938, of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), with 34 unions represented and spirited invocation delivered by Fr. Charles Owen Rice, who would gain fame as Pittsburgh’s “labor priest” in an activist career spanning 60+ years.
The event was held at the Islam Grotto on Pittsburgh’s North Side; you’ll find the historical marker today at nearby Allegheny Center.
The emergence of the CIO helped the nation’s labor force play a leading role in America’s massive military production when the U.S. entered World War II three years later.
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