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The most important strike in the American labor
history started at the end of 1936, when workers
from the Fisher Body Plant no. 1 in Flint launched a
series of sit down strikes as a way to express their
dissatisfaction about the working conditions and job
facilities established by General Motors. The strike
gradually expanded to up to 35 cities, such as
Atlanta, Kansas City and Cleveland. The workers’
goal was to draw attention and recognition for the
United Auto Workers who suffered as General Motors
started outsourcing their work to nonunion workers.
The United Auto Workers was
formed in 1935 by few union activists that were
unsatisfied with the fact that the AFL
representatives were not allowed to choose their own
leaders. The president of the new formed UAW was
Homer Martin, and officers were chosen the Reuther
brothers (Walter, Victor and George).
At the time of the strikes,
the nation was recovering from the Great Depression,
and workers benefited form the sympathy of the
president Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Michigan
governor Frank Murphy and even GM’s vice-president
William S. Knudsen.
Some of the reasons that caused
the worker’s strikes were:
§
About 235,000 GM workers have lost
their jobs after the Great Depression;
§
The weekly salaries dropped down from
$40 to $20;
§
The workers didn’t have the guarantee
that they will keep their jobs, as anyone could be
hired at any moment by simple foremen.
§
The work was dangerous and the workers
didn’t received any protection equipment, such as
protective gloves;
§
The lack of security even affected the
worker’s families, which were distressed by the fear
of possible job loss.
The GM’s president, Al Sloan
was caught off guard by the strike, as he thought
the workers were satisfied with their job status.
The Flint sit down strike began at 30th of December,
1936, when workers stopped loading the dies in the
night shift and just sat down and locked themselves,
hoping their will keep their jobs. The union workers
were supported by over 150,000 supporters that
invaded the Cadillac Square in Detroit, providing
them with the confidence and the power to continue
their protests. Fortunately, the results were
positive for the young UAW members, who continued
with the sit down strike for about 44 days.
There were attempts to
discourage the workers: the authorities tried to
block food delivering and cut off the heat, but the
strikers managed to fight back each time. The
Reuter brothers were a true inspiration and guidance
for the strikers: they continuously encouraged the
workers to resist the attempts of the authorities to
stop their actions. The National Guard was
mobilized in order to control the workers, but the
Michigan’s governor Frank Murphy never ordered the
troops into action. After long negotiations, GM
agreed not to discriminate against union members and
few other issues demanded by the union
representatives, such as:
ü
The piece work was replaced by
straight hourly rates;
ü
There were established seniority
rights according to the length of service and work
experience;
ü
The workers that were “unjustly
discharged” were reinstalled to their jobs;
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The UAW was recognized as sole
bargaining agency.
The implications of the sit
down strike clearly demonstrated the hard times and
the desperation of the UAW workers, that finally
they proved their point and got their demands
solved, improving the living standards of workers
from all over the country.
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Michelle