The Flint Strike

Thought Paper 1- The Flint Sit-Down Strike

American labor history provides a numerous examples of management labor issues. One of them is “The Flint Sit-Down Strike” in 1930s that changed the United Automobile Workers from a collection of locals into a major union. At the time, the country was emerging from economic depression. Working for General Motors in Flint, Michigan was a job many man needed in the 1930’s, but it was difficult. It had been standard practices for manufacturers to cut wages during depressions. For auto workers this had meant continual wage policies cut as well as unsteady work and horrible working conditions.

Before the depression there were almost half a million auto workers. The number fell significantly, as the wages has been reduced by half. The work was difficult and dangerous causing many injuries. Job security was a problem. The workers needed the money to support their families, so they were trying to protect their jobs from being removed.

The United Automobile Workers had been formed in 1935 and had organized campaigns at smaller plants, but without major results. In 1936, they sought recognition from its biggest and most powerful employer, General Motors Corporation in order to organize the automobile industry. The goals were to earn recognition from the UAW as the bargaining agent for GM workers, and make the company stop shipping work to plants with nonunion workers. Unfortunately GM refused, so in December 1936 workers at plants in Flint, Michigan, took over the plants and refused to leave. The striking workers got lots of sympathy of the most of the people, including Michigan governor Frank Murphy and the President Franklin Roosevelt. Al Sloan, the GM president, was against union movement as well as its competitor Henry Ford. Ford however, refused to shut down his plants. The stockholders sided with their profit maker. Even vice-president of GM felt like collective bargaining’s time had come. Organizing Flint strike was a...