About 22,000 employees of major American steel manufacturer USX stopped work from August 1, 1986 to January 31, 1987 after the United Steelworkers of America and the company failed to agree on new employee contract terms. The event was characterized by the company as a strike and by the union as a lockout. It surpassed the steel strike of 1959 as the longest steel industry work stoppage in US history.