Flip to Governor Milton J. Shapp signs the first master contract with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Harrisburg, PA, 1973.
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Credit: Courtesy of the Allegheny College Archives, Wayne and Sally Merrick Historic Archival Center, Pelletier Library, Allegheny College
In the late 1960s, Governor Raymond Shafer (1917-2006) oversaw significant reorganization of Pennsylvania state government. On July 23, 1970, Shafer signed Act 195, which made Pennsylvania the first state in the nation to permit its public employees to bargain collectively, join a union, and strike. (Act 195 superseded a 1947 statute that prohibited these activities.)