Nate Smith, 70, is considered the father of the Pittsburgh Black Labor Movement and was the first African American member of Local 66 of the Operating Engineers' Union. "I laid down in front of bulldozers and stopped job sites. I said hire me or run me over. At the time it seemed kind of crazy, but I really believed that God was on my side." Smith entered the navy at the age 12 by lying about his age and became a heavy equipment operator. After the Navy found out about his age, he became a professional boxer at age 14. After 100 over professional bouts by the age of 16, a doctor told him to stop fighting. So he gave some union officials free tickets to a championship bout and was given entry into the union. Smith organized and led marches of the Black Construction Coalition and helped over 2,000 people gain union cards by his own estimates, though independent sources believe he helped as many as 17,000. He also marched with demonstrators including Jesse Jackson throughout the South in the 1950s and 60s.