At a time when firefighters were underpaid, disrespected and subject to the whims of their employers, the firefighter union movement asserted itself in the early 1970s with an unprecedented wave of strikes.

On this edition of CPF Fire Wire, we present Part One of a two-part episode that tells the story of one of those strikes, and how it was part of a pivotal moment for firefighters and the labor movement.

Joining CPF President Brian Rice is Richard Mayberry, longtime president of Sacramento Area Firefighters 522. Mayberry was a relatively new firefighter in October of 1970 when more than 400 Sacramento City firefighters walked off the job.

In Part One, Mayberry talks about the conditions firefighters faced at the time, and what drove them to an action that put every firefighter's job on the line.