the strike itself. The strike received considerable attention in the national media. The Philadelphia transit strike of 1944 is one of the most high-profile instances of the federal government invoking the Smith–Connally Act. The Act had been passed in 1943 over President Roosevelt's veto. Background PTC and the union Since even before the official entry of the United States into World War II in December 1941, Philadelphia had been one on the major industrial war production centers in the U.S. By 1944 Philadelphia was regarded as the second largest war production center in the country (after Los Angeles). During that period the black population of the city grew substantially, and tensions with the predominantly white population began to increase. The Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) ran the city's huge public transportation system, including subways, buses and trolleys; by the time of the strike, it carried over one million people per day. By 1944, the PTC's eleven thousand strong workforce included 537 black employees. However, the PTC's black workers had been restricted to holding menial jobs; none were allowed to serve as conductors or motormen – positions that were reserved for white employees. As early as August 1941, black employees started pressuring the PTC for fairer employment practices that would allow upgrading of black workers to the more prestigious jobs reserved for whites. Their efforts were rebuffed by PTC management, who claimed that the current union contract contained a clause prohibiting any significant change in employment practices and customs without the union's approval (although the contract said nothing about race). The leader of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Employees Union (PRTEU), Frank Carney, proved to be equally reticent and claimed that he was not authorized by the union members to consider a request to allow promotions of black employees. Federal involvement The black PTC employees enlisted the help of the NAACP and started lobbying the federal authorities, particularly the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC), to intervene. The Fair Employment Practices Commission, created by an executive order of the President in 1941, was charged with ensuring non-discrimination employment practices by government contractors. Initially it was a fairly weak agency, but its authority was significantly strengthened in 1943 by a new executive order that required all government contracts to have a non-discrimination clause. As the war progressed, the manpower shortages were getting more severe. In January 1943 the PTC requested 100 white motormen from the