Edward Sadlowski

Edward Sadlowski, born 1938, also known as "Oil Can Eddie", is a United States labor activist and a past Director of United Steelworkers of America, District 31.

Edward Eugene Sadlowski was born in 1938 in Chicago, Illinois. He left school in the eleventh grade and, after serving in the U.S. Army, started work as a machinist's apprentice at age 18 at U.S. Steel in Chicago which was represented by Local 65 of the United Steelworkers of America (USWA). Sadlowski was elected shop steward of his plant in 1960 and grievance representative in 1962. The following year he was elected president of Local 65, at age 25 the youngest person in the union to hold that office. In 1967 he was re-elected to that position.

In 1973, Sadlowski was a candidate for the position of director of District 31, the largest USWA district covering the Chicago Gary, Indiana area with 130.000 members. His opponent, Samuel C. Evett, had the support of the International Union with I.W. Able as its President. There were 288 steelworker locals in District 31 and Sadlowski needed nominations from 29 of them to get on the ballot. The International refused to give the Sadlowski campaign a list of the locals but eventually Sadlowski got the nominations of 40 locals. The night of the February 13, 1973 election Sadlowski was winning by about 3500 votes when the votes stopping coming in around midnight. When votes starting coming in again Evett had the margin and he was declared the winner of the election by 2,000 votes. Sadlowski protested the election and sued the union. As a result of the suit the U.S. Department of Labor investigated and found massive fraud. They found the official union leadership at the Gary Works U.S. Steel local, one of the district's biggest, had faked the ballots. A federal court fight followed and Evett agreed to a new election in July of 1974. This election was held November 12 through November 15, 1974. Sadlowski won by 20,000 votes, a 2-1 margin. An organization known as Steelworkers Fightback was born during this campaign. After Sadlowski won the District Director election he traveled around the country talking to steelworker groups about whether to run for International president. The International offered Sadlowski a deal. They would give him the staff he wanted in his district and would stay out of the political affairs of the district. In return they wanted Sadlowski to stay out of International union politics. Sadlowski rejected the deal. Sadlowski became a candidate for president of the Steelworkers in 1977, running at the head of a reformist slate (Steelworkers Fightback). During the campaign he liked to say, "There is a fire in the steelworker union and I'm no going to piss on it."

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