One striker wrote home: 'We are all a nice group, we feel good and have enough to eat. We have some good banjo players and singers. We sing and yell at the Fisher boys and they do the same'. Another wrote: 'I'm having a good time, something new, something different, lots of fun and music'. A psychologist indicated that the change in the atmosphere caused a change in the personality. There was a 'we' feeling that was bigger than the 'I' feeling. They had made a palace out of their prison and never felt like this  living.

Help came from all over the country. They were proud of the contract they had concluded with the Milk Wagon Drivers Union. Now even the milk came from union drivers!  Despite the AFL's attempt to sabotage the strike, the Flint, Detroit, Cleveland and Minneapolis branches helped the strikers. The URW Goodyear sent  $3,000. 6,000 men came from UAW Studebaker. Trucks of food arrived from Akron. Hudson and Chrysler workers started a "one-hour-a-day club" where one hour's wages were donated to the strikers' fund. Even small business owners joined in. One of them said:  'This whole row of shops is behind the union. I never got a dividend from GM, a union victory is better for my business."  

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Outside the factories, a network of committees supported the strike. The defense, food, sound car, transport, relief, publicity etc. Women were especially important outside the factories. The union leadership had decided that only men should be allowed to occupy the factories, much to the anger of some female workers. Support from the women was essential to morale, something GM also recognized. She therefore used people to pressure the women to let their men work again. But the wives and female workers started working on the committees. After a New Year's Eve dance, 50 women decided to form a women's alliance. She set up a nursery for mothers on strike, a first aid post, welfare committee and the like. When the fighting with the police started, the women lined up in military ranks and were ready to fight the police. A leader said, 'We'll make a line around  the men and if the police want to shoot they have to shoot at us first'. A new type of woman had emerged during the strike. 'Women who at first were appalled by the unions, who felt unfit  felt for tasks such as organizing, speaking, leading, have become, as if by thunderclap, the spearhead of the trade union movement'. One woman said: “I found a common vision and selflessness that I did not know of myself. I finally have a purpose in my life. Being a woman is no longer enough, I want to be a person who can think for himself'.  

The union coordinated the strike and indicated that  the biggest demand was recognition. However, what recognition entailed was not explained. Workers assumed it meant that there was a clear voice for them in industrial decisions that way, and they enthusiastically supported it. The  strike quickly spread from Flint to other GM factories. Workers sat at Guide Lamp, Anderson Indiana, Chevrolet and Fisher Body in Janesville, Wisconsin, and  Cadillac in Detroit. Regular strikes developed in Norwood and Toledo, Ohio, and Ternstedt, Michigan. GM had to stop production at Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Delco-Remy and other plants due to body shortages. January 1, all Chevrolet and Buick factories were closed, 100,000 GM workers were out of work. GM's January forecast of 224,000 cars and trucks was lowered to 60,000 and only 151 cars were produced nationwide in the first 10 days of February.

GM refused to negotiate until the factories were evacuated and launched a counterattack on three levels: legal, anti-strike and violence. On the 3rd day of the strike (January 2), the GM's lawyers requested and obtained  Judge Edward Black issued a warrant for the evacuation of the strikers and access to the factories for those willing to work. The Sheriff read this order to the strikers who jeered at him and he fled. Then a quick-witted union attorney checked the case the next day and found that the judge held 3,365 shares of GM worth $219,900. As a result, the judge was not impartial and the order was no longer worth anything. It also showed that the organization had power over the government.  

A 300-strong trade union conference in Flint formulated the requirements: union recognition for the UAW, re-hiring of all layoffs, seniority, minimum wages, 30-hour workweek, 5-day workweek, 150% overtime pay, no more piece work and productivity reduction instead of increase.

GM and the press talked about  a Soviet style tyranny and that in an industry where 20% more is earned than average.  GM's next step was the creation of the Flint Alliance "for the safety of our jobs, homes and communities" (January 7). It was run by George Boysen, a former (and future) executive at GM, and, as a state police investigator would later point out, was a GM product. The alliance worked closely with Flint borough manager Barringer. It started with anti-strike publicity and recruiting  workers, entrepreneurs, farmers, housewives and students, anyone who would sign a card. on  obtained that way  they data from people. Membership was free. A high number of participants is desired, Boysen said, to have a major effect and to be able to smother the strike. The workers thought the conditions were bad, but feared losing their jobs if they didn't join.

​

For two weeks there was little violence in Flint. GM's CEO, Alfred P. Sloan, would not even negotiate with the strikers, making it difficult to initiate consultations between the strikers and the company. But on January 11, helpers who came to bring food were stopped by the guards who were allowed to guard the ground floor by the strikers. The strikers tried to get to the food via an 8 meter high ladder. However, the guards blocked the way to the ladder. Suddenly, the police blocked access to the factory for all traffic. Clearly an attempt was made to starve and evict them. Unless  the strikers would take the gates it might work. Twenty strikers marched down with clubs and demanded the key to the gate. "My order is not to give the key to anyone," said the guard. The strikers gave him and his colleagues ten seconds, after which she fled and locked herself in the ladies' toilet. They later said they had been kidnapped.  The strikers then smashed the wooden fences to loud cheers from other strikers.  It looked like the whole thing was staged.  

Suddenly patrol cars arrived with many officers. They started throwing tear gas grenades at the strikers and the factory.  The union broadcaster called on the strikers to hold their posts and man the fire hoses. Now  preparations came in handy. The officers were sprayed with fire hoses and door hinges were thrown. The tear gas grenades were immediately dipped into buckets of water, this was all prepared.  Within five minutes, the police withdrew, soaked and battered. The police attacked again but the strikers had regrouped and drifted  them  left and the police started firing. While the injured were being carried away, the sheriff's car with the sheriff in it was overturned.  13 fell (other sources say 27)   injured.

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The January 11 conflict quickly earned the nickname "Battle of the Running Bulls." It was considered a major victory for the strikers, partly because they could withstand police attacks. Hitherto hostile workers also joined the union. The UAW gained thousands of members every day. The day after the victory, thousands of workers came to celebrate the victory. However, as many as 1,200 arrest warrants had been issued to arrest strikers, in addition to rebelling and  destruction of property they were also arrested for kidnapping.  This  led to Governor Frank Murphy calling in the National Guard (Jan. 12).

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Murphy was a New Deal Governor  eminently. He was a very liberal man. He was also friends with Walter Chrysler and Lawrence Fisher, among others, whose factories were the target of the strikes. However, he also owned 1,650 shares of GM worth $104,875. Murphy had no real intention of deploying the Guard and using force (February 3). GM also did not want this. Knudsen stated that GM wanted to resolve the strike through negotiations. Still, GM had 7 of the injured men arrested as they emerged from the hospital.  Murphy thought the strike was illegal but didn't want any bloodshed. He only wanted to use the Guard to prevent vigilante and Flint Alliance attacks while continuing to threaten to starve the strikers. He even negotiated a truce on January 15 where GM would promise not to move machines and keep the factories closed for 15 days.  Talks would only take place with the UAW, but  on all 8 requirements.  The strikers outside Flint had to leave the factories. The strikers would then have to give away their trump card, the ownership of the factories.

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Inside Fisher 1, the workers were already clearing and packing everything  and one would leave the factory after a chicken dinner to go to the Fisher 2 factory. The ceasefire and evacuation were called off  when a reporter, Bill Lawrence, the union, in the person of Henry Kraus,  informed of GM's deception. He had grabbed a press release from George Boysen's desk.  Travis sent messengers directly to the Fisher 1 factory. UAW director Martin saw no problem in the negotiations with the Flint Alliance, CIO director Brophy and VP Mortimer supported Travis' move. 

The  plans to negotiate with the Flint Alliance were GMs  way to keep the union out of the door. Because of their involvement in the Bulls Run, Travis, Kraus and Roy and Victor Reuther had already been arrested for illegal assembly and destruction of property. However, these charges were soon dropped. meanwhile  some factories had already been released;  Guide Lamp in Anderson and  Cadillac and Fleetwood on Detroit's west side. Banners were held up that read 'Today GM, tomorrow Ford'.   

At Roosevelt's request, the negotiations were restarted, after which GM closed them again after 2 days. GM vowed to reopen its factories because production was virtually at a standstill. Roosevelt was asked to force GM to resume negotiations, but he declined and didn't think it was a good idea. GM saw this as a signal to break the strike. That same day, Boyson announced that the Flint Alliance would play an active role in reopening the factories. On the 26th, GM declined to appear at a meeting scheduled by Secretary of Labor in Washington, Perkins. Roosevelt thought this was 'unfortunate'.

Vigilantes demolished the UAW headquarters in Anderson, Indiana and drove union organizers out of town. The Alliance  besieged four union officials in Saginaw and nearly beat them to death. Finally, GM Chevrolet reopened factories that had not been shut down by strikes. It involved 40,000 workers. Actually, they were closed by GM to kick the workers out and blame the UAW. Cars could hardly be built there, but stocks could be built up.  Travis didn't think this was the worst thing that could happen to the workers, many were out of work and this allowed them to earn money while the body shops were still closed.  

GM wanted a new writ of execution through the courts. They were looking for a judge who had no stakes in GM. Judge Gadola became  requested on 1 February that a new writ of execution be issued by which  the factories released  and the strike ended. This is due to the fact that it cost GM a lot of sales, and therefore money, in favor of Ford and Chrysler.  If the strikers didn't give in, he would deploy the National Guard without the governor's intervention.

on the same day  there will be a protest march because of the beating of the 4 union deputies, but this one was  canceled at Murphy's request. Travis was furious, pointing out that Murphy could have even protected the deputies.  

Chevy No. 4

the strikers  had been without gas and electricity for several weeks because GM had shut it down. GM regained control. Without a counterattack, the union's demands would dilute and they would lose their grip.

Local leaders in Flint devised a bold plan to take control of the big Chevrolet No. 4 factory. 1 million engines were built every year in this factory.  The problem was that the union influence was small and the factory was guarded by Arnold Lenz (thanks to him, Pontiac got the V8 Strato Streak engine in 1955, two years after his death). Lenz had instituted a reign of terror and fired people who were members of the unions here and there.

​

Also on Friday 29 January. The UAW then called for a meeting on Sunday. 1,500 members showed up. Travis told them of the situation and said the union would demand the re-hiring of the layoffs. After that 150 men had to stay for a while. Hereby  Carefully selected Chevrolet workers, including spies, Bob Travis, along with Kraus and Roy Reuther, announced a sit down at the Chevrolet No. 9 factory at 3:20 pm the next day, February 1. After that, the two most important  leaders told they factory  no. 9 only a small  hour because the real target No. 6 wash. Meanwhile, Travis had three leaders from No. 6 and no. 4 (Ed Cronk, Howard Foster and Kermit Johnson) told No. 9 was just a diversionary manoeuvre. So only 6 people knew that No. 4 was the real goal.  

As expected, the security guards were tipped off  and went from No. 4 to no. 9. Travis's plan worked. The information soon "leaked" to Lenz. He believed it because the meeting was mysteriously set up in a dark room and with letters of instruction that were not to be read until later.  At 3:20 pm the next day, coinciding with the GM hearing, there was a large rally at the union hall, set up as a "protest march" to the court. Thousands of people showed up and the female auxiliaries were also in great numbers  present. Meanwhile, the union's sound trucks drove through the city, escorted by security guards, and ended up at No. 9 and no. 6 factory. Five minutes later Dorothy Kraus ran out of breath to Travis and handed him a letter. Travis turned to the crowd and said, "They're beating up our boys at Chevy 9, let's go there!" What no one knew was that the letter was a blank piece of paper. The crowd moved very quickly to No. 9 where the journalists were already because they had been tipped off.  Lenz had completely fallen for it. The entire armed force of the Chevrolet division was on standby.

At 15:20 the night shift marched already shouting 'strike'  go inside. The security immediately closed the gates and, led by Lenz, ran in 'Reddy! Communists! 'crying. The outnumbered workers fought valiantly. Meanwhile tear gas grenades were thrown inside. When a woman saw her husband's bloodied head gasping for air outside an open window, she yelled at the red berets, “They're choking them! We have to give them air." The women smashed all the windows. One of them later said: 'They were fighting inside and out and if we hadn't intervened it would have been much worse. The gas drifted out, right at us, but we were used to it and went for it."   At 3:45 pm the manager of factory No. 4 along the lines to get all GM men to No. 9 to conduct which made No. 4 was virtually deserted. In the end, the two  leaders, Ted La Duke and Tom Klasey, ordered the men to exit at 4:10 p.m. Then the conveyor belts were stopped.  Meanwhile, the court was still discussing the writ of execution.

Many workers were threatened with dismissal by the foremen. Union men marched through the halls  'We're on strike' shouting.  As the number of strikers grew, so did their courage. There was virtually no more physical violence. Soon there were hundreds of strikers. Because  there were still departments to be closed, the union workers swarmed past the machines, leaving silence behind. They drove the GM people out of the factory with some persuasion. The factory was dead and lay like a wounded giant. The union was in control and spoke to doubting workers everywhere.

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Meanwhile, a too small group of workers at No. 4 that the factory should be closed, but they were barely heard. Those at no. 6 who were familiar with the plan also came to No. 4, but there were still too few. When they went back to No. 6, the entire factory was already on strike, after which they moved to No. 4 walked and who could  Close.  

The workers who did not want to go on strike left the factory, about 2,000 men stayed inside, and a similar number left and...  left their lunches. A welcome addition. When the foremen were driven out at 4:15 pm, the entrances were barricaded. The guard returning from No. 9 was chased with pistons, connecting rods, rocker arms and fire hoses. One of the women climbed onto the sound car and yelled that they were going to wipe the tear gas from their eyes and be back soon. They didn't want violence, but they would protect their men. Soon they were back, a procession of hundreds of women in red berets. They divided themselves in front of the factory and made it clear that one had to go over their corpses first to get to the men. However, no attempt was made.

The women are holed up and preparing for an overnight stay. At the factory, the rear entrance was barricaded with gondolas full of metal parts. The great mighty No. 4 factory was paralyzed and GM was hit in the heart. The brilliant plans devised by Travis and the ingenuity and exploits of the strikers had secured the UAW CIO's victory. Joe Sayen climbed the fence and addressed the crowd, “We want the whole world to know what we're fighting for. We fight for life and freedom. This is our big chance. What if we were defeated? What if we get killed? We only have one life, that's all we can lose and we'd better die as heroes than as slaves.' The closure of no. 4 on the 34th day showed that the strikers were not exhausted yet and could still tighten their grip on the industry.

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The GM 'back to work' movement had come to a halt. Murphy was furious. Negotiations have been "ruined," he said. He denounced the sit down tactic. He put  troops in around Chevy 4. De  troops took possession of all the streets and approaches. One  martial law was declared. Guards with bayonets surrounded Chevy No. 4. 8  Machine guns and 37mm Howitzers were  placed the hills  overlooking the factories and there was a large supply of tear gas. No one was allowed into the factories, no union people, but not the family either. As a result, no food came into the factories. The National Guard was expanded from 2,300 men to 4,000.

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On February 2, Judge Gadola had signed the order and the workers were ordered to leave the factories within 24 hours. The subpoena also banned protesting outside the factory and the female auxiliaries also had to leave the area.  

The stoves were shut off and they threatened to make campfires. Immediately the heaters were turned on again. The same happened with the light. on  February 3, the National Guard had to lift the food ban under threats of destruction.  

There was a plan of  war veterans that the union had not taken notice of. They had the task  committed to protecting the leaders outside the factories. would  If the leaders are arrested by Gadola's writ they would occupy the town hall, police station and court and arrest all officials and release the union people.

The strikers did not respond to Gadola's new order. They had only one requirement: GM's recognition of the UAW. Governor Murphy had convinced GM to negotiate with the strikers. The robe was placed under Barringer's army  pulled away when a GM manager asked him to  to demobilize. There stood  for hundreds of millions of machines at stake. He said: 'The last thing we want is rioting in the streets'. GM tried all kinds of ways to lure the workers out of the factories. Doctors came to tell the workers that a cough was a dangerous disease. One man was told his father was dying, he left immediately. Notes were also delivered stating that a particular family member was ill. In the end, almost all of the strikers stayed in the factories.

Meanwhile, the AFL  his betrayal. Having previously expressed their support for GM, they had now declared the strike a defeat. They demanded that the factories be reopened. Their members had never voted for a strike. Cleveland's body shop had 6 members. When asked what effect this would have on the strike, Lewis replied 'Has that man gone back to work?'

The president of the AFL, William Green, had reportedly received a promise from Roosevelt that he would not intervene on behalf of the CIO. Green asked GM not to recognize the UAW. This underhanded AFL action had as much effect on the UAW as a worm's attack on a Mack truck.   

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The Sheriff read the summons to the strikers. Of course they refused. He asked Murphy to help him and deploy the Guard. There were now 3,000 men in Fisher No. 1.  When city representative  Barringer realized that the 4,000 Guard men were not doing anything to the strikers, he ordered the police to deploy a 500-strong army of their own. "We're going in there shooting," he said. "The strikers have taken over the city and we are taking it back." Murphy wanted to keep his image intact and hoped for an agreement between GM and the strikers. More and more vigilantes were recruited, there were already 1,000 who, along with the 4,000 Guards, the Flint Police and the Flint Alliance, were ready to intervene. The Michigan Sheriff's Association also offered an additional 1,300 men.  

The question arose of what to do in the event of a large-scale attack. Walter Reuther (head of Local 174) wanted to tell the workers to passively resist and lie on the floor and be carried outside. Travis was furious. “You don't let these boys run out like beaten dogs.  If you do, you'll rip their hearts out. They've fought the police, they can take on the GM scum and the National Guard too!'

One striker wrote: 'I hope no one gets hurt, they are all good people, we are not and do not want to be violent. We don't come out, though...'.

The 3,000 men in Fisher No. 1 were prepared and had also prepared the factory to prevent a gas attack.  Despite the ban, there were also weapons. A majority of the strikers had signed up for a fight to the death. On Feb. 2, Murphy was informed, “The police are GM's, the Sheriff is GM's, as are the judges. It remains to be seen if the governor is also from GM. We have decided to stay in the factory and we have no illusions about the sacrifices this entails. We expect many of us to die in an attack and we take this opportunity to let our women, our children, the people of the state of Michigan and the country know that you are guilty of our deaths.”   

Travis had requested help.  Thousands of workers, including many women,  came to Flint from other auto cities like Detroit and Toledo to demonstrate. The factories were shut down when everyone left. Auto-Lite, Kelsey-Hayes, Dodge and Chrysler, they all supported the GM workers. The crowd of 10,000 and workers occupied Flint and demonstrated in  downtown and around the endangered Fisher No. 1 factory. Chevy No. 4  was excluded from the eviction because it was occupied after the subpoena. 

5,000 women were gathered by the women's auxiliaries. They decided to demonstrate in the center. The mobilization was called 'Women's Day' to avoid provocations.  As the deadline approached they went  to the Fisher No. 1 factory and mingled with the thousands of others and they circled the factory with a crowd 6 rows thick. When the strikers saw the 5,000 women in red berets with their clubs, pokers, crowbars and pipes, they went crazy. 'It was like we were soldiers protecting the fortress, it was war. The people  around me became my friends. As a kid at school I remember the story of Davey Crokett and 'the last stand at the Alamo'. This felt like our Alamo.'

On Feb. 7, Lewis, chief of the CIO, took part in the Detroit talks with Mortimer and attorney Pressman. Mortimer replaced Martin who had been 'sent away' to avoid mixing things up.  

Murphy was at his wits' end. On the evening of February 10, he took the subpoena to Lewis' hotel room to inform him that the subpoena would be served. Lewis replied that he would then walk into the factory himself and attack the Guard.   

With 10,000 and workers around the factories and  GM gave more than 5,000 strikers willing to die on the 44th day of the strike  finally agreed and recognized the unions in the striking factories and would only work with them  negotiate and with no one else for the next 6 months. The unions were confident in it because there was no 'competition' to compete with. They also estimate the 6 months as sufficient time to arrange everything. All fired strikers had to be reinstated and no reprisals were allowed. Union buttons were allowed to be worn in the factories. They were fired for that. The subpoena was withdrawn. Negotiations were to start within 5 days. GM immediately raised the wages by 5 cents an hour in the hope of taking the wind out of the union's sails. Only the workers saw  the $25 million pay raise was a union victory.

​

The strike ended at 5:00 PM on 11 February and the strikers left the factories after 44 days with their belongings in a package on their backs. Deafening cheers echoed outside the factory. In a parade of more than 3 km where all kinds of people joined along the way, Fisher Body started  no. 1 to no. 2 and Chevy No. 4. Singing 'Solidarity forever' drew the crowd to downtown Flint. The 'Union Town'. The sentiment  the moment was well described by one drunk worker who said to another 'Emmet, you have to believe me, it's the CIO in me talking, not me'.  The strikers wondered what normal life would bring. It seemed as if the strike had started life again. They had won the battle, now the war.

​

When the news was told to Bud Simons, head of the strike committee at the Fisher No. 1 factory, he said the men wouldn't mind. They wanted to know what would happen to the speed-ups, and whether the bosses would become stricter than ever. They wondered if they would be back to square one. These premonitions were correct. GM's policy was to contain the union. especially with regard to production speed. The workers wanted certainty about  the production speed, but according to the collective labor agreement signed on March 12, the management had all the authority to decide on this. If workers disagreed, the plan had to be reconsidered and modified if it turned out to be unfair. Instead of one union representative for every 25 workers, the union agreed to representation through committees of no more than 9 men per factory. They would consult with management. The union, of course, went  agree to be the body for workers. If the workers  having trouble with speed-ups or anything else would be coming to the union. She  also stated that there would be no production delays or shutdowns until all opportunities had been exhausted  to resolve the issue through the normal grievance procedure, and in no case without the approval of the international union leaders.  

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Such agreements were not enough for the workers who had just lost their own power  discovered. She assumed a radical change in the power structure at GM and they were reluctant to accept the discipline of management.  

In the two weeks after Flint, 87 sit downs started at Packard, Goodyear, Goodrich and GE, among others, after which wage increases were awarded immediately.  According to Knudsen, there were 170 sit downs between March and June 1937.  For example, on March 28, 200 women were sitting in the sewing department of the Fisher No. 1 factory. They did not agree with the method of payment. Out of sympathy there were 280 other women from another sewing department and finally 60 men from the transport department. As a result, the factory had to be closed. This was not according to the new rules and the union leaders quickly came to the factory to solve the problem.  

UAW membership had already risen to 200,000 four days after the strike ended. A few months later, another 100,000 had joined. In the 1937 model year, $75 million had been added to automakers' salaries.

Two weeks later, 935 men struck in a  Chevrolet factory. The parts and service factory also joined in out of sympathy, making Fisher No. 2  also ditch. Finally, all the workers from all other departments of the Chevrolet complex walked out. Meanwhile, the Fisher factory and the Yellow Truck and Coach factory in Pontiac also closed because workers went on strike because of the layoff of colleagues. 30,000 men had already been involved. This showed that without the unions the workers were able to start strikes between factories, but also between different cities. Union leaders told Governor Murphy they were stunned by the sit downs. Just as importantly, the workers could determine the rate of production, despite the contract saying it could only be determined by management. The New York Times reported this on April 2. Production at the Chevrolet plant had been cut in half in the last few weeks due to concerted action by the union and other key people on the production line  which was served intermittently.  

Despite the union's failure to influence productivity, a worker at the Fisher No. 1 factory said that the inhumanely high production rates were over and that people are now  had a voice.  That they were now treated as people and not as machines. The pressure was reduced. It clearly proves that 'united we stand, divided or alone we fail'. We'll get there together.

The union leadership saw these wildcat strikes as a serious threat to the union. The CIO took steps against them:

1. UAW representatives went to the scene to address the problem so that the men went back to work.

2. An order had been issued that if the representatives approved a shutdown without permission they would be fired and the local union would not receive any more money.

3. The union representatives were 'educated' to live up to the GM contract and convince the grassroots that no strike will be necessary

4. In certain cases, there has been a purge of hotheads and troublemakers through dismissal, transfer or demotion.

​

The CIO contract was an adequate remedy against sit downs. It guaranteed that there would be no strikes during the contract term. This was accompanied by fines, penalties, dismissal and a blacklist.  

Sit downs occurred 477 times in 1937, more than 10 times as many as in 1936. In addition, there were many undocumented sit downs. The largest number came from women in the textile industry. Sitting down had  replaced baseball as a favorite pastime, according to a Detroit News reporter.  However, the sit downs had the greatest impact on  the car industry. The union started new  negotiations with Chrysler. They wanted the  Using GM Agreement. The actual question was reduced to 'is the union it?  any consultative body.  Chrysler replied negatively. In no time, 50,000 workers at the Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth and DeSoto factories were on strike. After 10 strikes in one day, Chrysler gave pay increases to all departments and promised to draw up a contract with the UAW for all 75,000 workers. Murphy warned that violence would have to be used to regain respect for authority. He  established a law and order committee  but the UAW refused to carry it out.  

Departmental committees in the occupied factories would not leave the factories if they were not recognized as the sole negotiators. However, the CIO agreed to the evacuation of the factories. Many strikers considered this a form of betrayal  but left the factories anyway.

By April 1, more than 120,000 automakers were on strike, from Hudson to GM. The police couldn't handle the Chrysler strikers and went  on the attack on the smaller strikes.

The UAW called for a massive protest in Cadillac Square and threatened to summon 180,000 people from the Detroit area without the GM strikers because they had just finished their  had signed a contract.  Successful sit downs were also held in other cities, in all kinds of branches. The waitresses at 3 De Met's teahouses went home with a 25% raise.  

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Due to these massive actions, many employers voluntarily decided to negotiate with the unions. By the start of the Second World War, the unions were present in all major industrial companies. The most important was US Steel. Their bitter anti-union stance was reversed and the CIO Steel Workers Organizing Committee was recognized on March 2nd and without strikes at all!  It was clear  that it was wiser to negotiate with experienced people from a trade union than with inexperienced people on the shop floor. The new contract cost US Steel little. The wage increases were passed on in the products and the restrictions in the hours had to be introduced anyway if they still wanted to compete for government contracts. The contract also contained a clause that the work could not be stopped if there were problems. Should that be the case, the decision had to be made by an impartial person appointed by the company and the union.  

A small steel company described it this way:

It is an advantage to allow the union into the workplace. The workers come to the union with their problems and these are usually solved during a good conversation. As a result, management is not bothered with every problem. The disadvantage is that many of these trade unionists are inexperienced and sometimes go very tough to management for very small matters.  

Workers had used the sit downs to counterbalance management, freedom to set work speed, divide the work as it pleased, etc. They saw the union as a way to guarantee this power. The new CIO unions, like any other political organization that wants to gain members, presented itself as the solution to the workers' wishes. The goal of  campaigns was the magical 'union recognition'. Magical because it could mean anything to anyone.

For the workers it meant an end to speed-ups, reduced hours, higher wages, better working conditions, paid vacations, seniority etc. And, beating the large numbers of cynical people with experience with the AFL, the CIO stated that these union represented all workers collectively and that one would fight against the employers. This image made the CIO emerge as the big winner from the sit downs, despite being  systematically resisted the sit downs. Ultimately, they wanted to bring 5 million workers into the union, something that was achieved within 4 years.  

Meanwhile, they were able to present themselves to management as a system for disciplining the workforce, managing employee dissatisfaction, and protecting against sit downs, lie downs or any other form of strike. This could be demonstrated with cases from practice. With the cooperation of the government that had created a solid institutional structure for collective bargaining through the Wagner Act and the National Labor Relations Board, the CIO was able to channel the sit down movement, far from the power of corporate rulers, actually strengthening power over the workers. self.

black  workers

Few black people were involved in the Flint strike. There were only a few hundred black automakers. They worked separately from the whites and used a different entrance and exit. They demonstrated outside the factory and took on the police, the National Guard, vigilantes and the Black Legion (the North American branch  of the Ku Klux Klan). They also had to deal with racist white protesters. Roscoe van Zandt was, as far as we know, the only black striker. He was in Chevrolet No. 4. The first night he was on his own, but he was soon assigned the only bed because he was a bit older. When they left the factories on February 11, van Zandt walked with the American flag.  

The 1939 Fisher Body Plant Riot in Cleveland

Tensions ran high in Cleveland after three weeks. The city's largest car factory, the seven-story Fisher Body factory built in 1921, which at the time built 2-door Chevrolet bodies, has been plagued by strikes since the AFL competitor UAW-CIO announced a strike at about 12 people.  GM factories in July.

In the summer of 1939, the UAW-CIO wanted an additional agreement with GM for the workers of the Tool and Die divisions. However, GM refused to negotiate, claiming not to know whether the UAW-CIO or the AFL had the legally binding contract with GM. GM CEO William Knudsen told the paper that if the strike continued, production of the 1940 models would slow down.  

GM said the plant continued to operate during the strike, albeit at a slower pace. The week before, Bob Travis (who also played a big part in the 1937 Flint sit down) had arrived in Cleveland to lead the strike and shut down the factory. On Monday morning, July 31, a group of workers from the White Motors factory along with a group from Bender Body blocked the entrance to the GM factory. The way was blocked by non-striking workers. Everyone expected trouble that morning. The strikers were wearing papier mache  helmets and the police were ready with 150 men on horses and equipped with tear gas. The mayor was in attendance along with an Ohio National Guard observer and Cleveland's Safety Director Eliot Ness. The trouble started at 6:00 am when a group of non-strikers tried to drive through the crowd (some 5,000 to 6,000 men). The strikers crowded around the cars and the police immediately intervened to make room. The crowd reacted immediately by pelting the cars and the officers with stones. This sparked the fighting over the next few hours, often at the feet of the mayor and Ness. Police used tear gas and water cannons as the strikers overthrew cars and threw tear gas grenades back at police. Just then, a car with non-strikers came around the corner. The strikers went straight for it and threw a rock through the windshield. Other stones shattered the side windows and the strikers pulled the occupants from the bludgeoned car and overturned. One of the occupants fled and was immediately chased. Someone lit a match and set the car that was leaking gasoline on fire. The fire brigade immediately came to put out the fire.  

The police had been ordered not to fire unless the strikers stormed the factory. They were described as 'striking left and right with their clubs'. They were helped by the traffic police who were out of the center  achieved. Finally, they forced the crowd into Donovan's Loop, a restaurant used by union leaders to lead the strike. Mid-morning, George Matowitz, chief of police, and Bob Travis were discussing a ceasefire. In the afternoon the fighting flared up again, after which Bob Travis promised through a public address system on the roof of the restaurant that the next day the group would be twice as large, after which it became quiet. 46 people were injured and 13 arrested.  

Ness declared a no-entry zone around the factory to  to prevent convergence. He told the strikers that they were not allowed to line up more than 5 men per gate. He described it later  as a kind of 'state of siege'. He made an exception for Donovan's Loop, where no more than 10 people were allowed at a time. The strikers moved to the homes of the non-strikers. Ness therefore banned protests around houses throughout Cleveland. 450 non-strikers had entered the factory anyway, 200 of them also stayed overnight while the crowd, which grew to 8,000 during the day, slowly dispersed. Ness kept the police on standby in case the promised 20,000 strikers showed up, but this did not happen.  

There were still some riots in Detroit over the next few days, but Cleveland remained calm. The strike lasted 4 weeks and because of the start of production of the 1940s models, GM gave in. On Friday, August 4, GM drafted a contract with UAW-CIO that will provide the workers of the Tool and  Those departments guaranteed overtime pay. This ended the strike of  7,000 workers in 12 factories. It gave the UAW-CIO exclusive rights to collaborate with GM. In the country, however, questions were raised about the tactics of the UAW-CIO. It was thought that if the CIO  had been allowed to determine the time and place for themselves before the strike, they would have first waited for a move in the steel industry, or in the rubber or coal industry.  It was therefore a move by the workers themselves. The success of this lay in the fact that each worker with his 'own' task was part of the gear system. Remove a few parts or all of the sprocket and everything comes to a standstill.  

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This whole thing went deeper than people realized. Behind GM was the steel industry. The Du Pont family was also behind the steel industry. It was a struggle between the working class and American capitalism. Behind GM were also the fascist Liberty League and Black Legion. The car monopoly represented a financial power intertwined with capital around the world. Many established laws to rein in the workers were broken.

Ness held office through 1942 and then returned to Ohio and ran for mayor of Cleveland in 1947. The members of UAW Local 45  struck again in 1946 for a 30% pay rise. These demands were partially met. The Local 45 was discontinued when GM closed the plant in 1982.  

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The Future of the AFL and the CIO

The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio in May 1886 by an alliance of craft unions dissatisfied with the 'Knights of Labor'  a national labor association. Samuel Gompers of the Cigar Makers International Union was elected president of the federation at its founding meeting and was  reelected, save for one year, until his death in 1924. The AFL was the largest labor union group in the United States during  the first half of the 20th century, including after the 1935 establishment of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) by unions expelled by the AFL. Although the Federation was founded and dominated by craft unions for the first fifty years of its existence,  many of its members turned to industrial union bases to meet the demands of the CIO in the 1940s.

In 1955 . became  the AFL merged with its longtime rival, the Congress of Industrial Organizations. The UAW founded the ALA with the Teamsters in 1968, which was dissolved in 1972. The UAW joined the AFL-CIO in 1981, the Teamsters did so in 1987.  The AFL CIO is  a federation that is active to this day.  Together with his successors  forms  the AFL the longest lasting and most influential labor federation  in the United States.