Chicago firemen return to jobs after truce

March 11, 1980

Firemen wasted little time getting back to a normal routine following their 23-day strike against the city, but some said it would be hard to heal the rift between strikers and nonstrikers.

The union was scheduled to go before the Illinois Supreme Court Monday in an attempt to get its jailed president, Frank Muscare, freed on bond.

The strike, which began early Feb. 14, ended early Saturday with a tentative agreement reached with the help of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a civil rights leader who volunteered his services when courts and professional mediators failed to bring the city and the striking Fire Fighters Union Local 2 together.