 By the time the company manager learned of the strike, the smelters were closed and the fires extinguished.The strikers forced three of the furnaces to shut down so quickly that molten metal congealed in the pipes, requiring laborious repair work.p.132-137

The number of workers idled at the two smelters was 773, about half of whom were union members.The union established pickets at the two smelters, in spite of a court injunction against picketing.