CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD Sewell Avery sat stiffly at his desk inside the Chicago headquarters of the Montgomery Ward catalog company—lovingly dubbed "Monkey Ward" by its legions of customers—on April 26, 1944. He wore a dark suit and tie, his jacket buttoned tight across his chest, and his lips drawn with equal conviction. Two national guardsmen kept watch over him. Also in Avery's office was US Attorney General Francis Riddle, who had flown in from Washington to try to defuse a potentially explosive situation. The National War Labor Board had twice ordered Avery to honor pacts it had brokered between his company and the United Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union. Twice Avery had refused. He didn't believe he had any obligation to recognize a labor union as a bargaining representative for its collective membership. So 12,000 workers remained on strike—now four months and counting. "To hell with the government!" Avery barked at Biddlc. "I want none of your damned advice."
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