His start in the IWW was also met with turbulent times. He failed many of his first attempts at organizing strikes. He switched his tactics to target primarily Eastern European immigrants, since he was also one. This lead him to the McKees Rocks strike, a strike in a steel town of Pennsylvania. Trautmann tried to keep the protests peaceful, but soon violence erupted. Five state troopers were killed, and Trautmann was arrested. Thousands of workers threatened to riot if he was not released, and their demands met. Eventually the factory operators met the workers' demands and Trautmann achieved his first labor victory.