The 1936–1937 Flint sit-down strike, also called the General Motors sit-down strike or the great GM sit-down strike, was a labor action that took place at a General Motors factory in Flint, Michigan, United States. This event helped the United Automobile Workers (UAW) grow from small local groups into a major union and caused the automobile industry in the U.S. to become unionized.

Background

Before the Great Depression, General Motors (GM) employed 208,981 hourly workers. These workers earned about $1,195 each year. After the Great Depression, job numbers began to rise, but GM had 30,000 fewer employees than it did before the Depression. While wages increased across the country in 1936, wages at GM remained the same. Experts estimated that a family of four needed $1,434.79 annually to meet basic needs. GM records showed that full-time workers earned between $1,200 and $1,300 each year. Workers were also required to work faster to compensate for the economic losses caused by the Great Depression.

The United Automobile Workers (UAW) labor union was formed in 1935 and held its first meeting in 1936. Soon after, the union decided it could not succeed by organizing smaller plants as it had before. Instead, it focused on organizing automobile workers and targeted General Motors Corporation, the largest and most powerful employer in the industry. The union chose to focus on GM’s most important plants, located in Flint, Michigan. Henry Kraus, a UAW organizer, described Flint as the central hub of GM’s operations, stating that events there had major effects on the company’s profits nationwide. The plants in Flint were essential for producing GM cars and cars from its subsidiaries, such as Chevrolet and Buick. Henry Kraus noted that Chevrolet and Buick plants in Flint employed 14,000 and 16,000 workers, respectively, making them the largest of GM’s 60 or so factories. Plant No. 4 in Chevrolet was especially important because it produced engines for all Chevrolet cars sold at the time. Strikes at these plants would severely disrupt GM’s production across the country. The UAW had recently separated from the larger American Federation of Labor (AFL) union.

Organizing workers in Flint was challenging and risky. GM controlled local politics in Flint and closely monitored outsiders. When Wyndham Mortimer, the first UAW officer assigned to Flint, arrived in early June 1936, he was quickly noticed. People believed to be GM employees followed him wherever he went. GM also used a large network of spies within its factories. Mortimer found that existing local unions in Flint, which had only 122 members out of 45,000 auto workers, were filled with spies. To stay safe, Mortimer and other UAW organizers, including Eric Branoff, Roy Reuther, Henry Kraus, and Ralph Dale, met with Flint workers in their homes. They kept new members’ names secret from others in Flint and at UAW headquarters.

As the UAW studied GM’s operations, it learned that only two GM factories produced the dies used to stamp car body parts. One was in Flint, which made parts for Buicks, Pontiacs, and Oldsmobiles, and the other was in Cleveland, which made parts for Chevrolets. The union planned to strike these plants after the New Year, when Frank Murphy would become governor of Michigan.

The strike

In December 1936, workers at Cleveland's Fisher Body plant went on strike after two brothers were fired from the assembly line. This event made the United Auto Workers (UAW) decide to speed up its plans. The union said it would not end the Cleveland strike until it reached a national agreement with General Motors (GM) that covered all of GM's factories. At the same time, the union planned to shut down Fisher #1 in Flint, Michigan. Genora Johnson Dollinger was a key organizer and protester during the Flint sit-down strike. She also created the all-female Emergency Brigade, a group that helped protect workers inside the factory. Robert Travis was the UAW organizer during the strike. On December 30, at 8:00 AM, the union learned that GM planned to move equipment out of Fisher #1. UAW leader Bob Travis quickly called a meeting at the union hall near the plant, explained the situation, and then sent workers to occupy the factory. This action started the Flint sit-down strike.

In a normal strike, union members leave the factory and form a picket line outside to stop others from entering and working. This prevents the employer from continuing operations. In a sit-down strike, workers stay inside the factory to block management and others from entering. By staying inside, workers stopped the company from hiring replacement workers to continue production. It was easier to keep workers motivated during a sit-down strike than during a normal strike. Workers were protected from outside pressures and the anger of the community that might have been caused by their actions. Bad weather did not affect sit-downers as it did for workers outside during a normal strike.

During the Flint sit-down strike, the workers created their own system to manage life inside the factory. They elected a mayor and other officials to help keep order. Departments were set up for activities like recreation, information, postal service, and sanitation. Rules were enforced by a group the workers called a "Kangaroo Court." If someone broke the rules, they had a trial, and punishments included tasks like washing dishes or being removed from the plant in serious cases. Keeping order was important because if damage happened, the governor might send the National Guard. The workers' leaders also made sure supplies like food and other items were brought into the factory from outside. Most meals for the about 2,000 workers inside the plant were given free of charge by a nearby diner.

Spread of the strike

Once the strike began in Flint, workers at other General Motors plants joined the strike:

• December 31: Workers at the Fisher Body and Chevrolet plant in Norwood, Ohio, and the Guide Lamp plant in Anderson, Indiana, held sit-down strikes.
• January 4: A sit-down strike occurred at the Chevrolet plant in Toledo, Ohio.
• January 5: Sit-down strikes took place at Chevrolet and Fisher Body plants in Janesville.
• January 8: A sit-down strike began at the Cadillac plant in Detroit, which employed 380 workers. This strike was organized by Walther Reuther’s West Side local.
• January 12: A sit-down strike started at the Fleetwood plant in Detroit, a supplier of Cadillac vehicles. About ninety workers participated. The strike continued until January 15, when it changed to a conventional strike. Reuther stated the action was a protest against police brutality in Flint on January 11.
• January 13: A conventional strike happened at the Fisher Body and Chevrolet plants in St. Louis after a failed sit-down strike the day before. Union members from Kansas City supported the striking workers.
• January 25: A strike reportedly occurred at the Fisher Body and Chevrolet plants in Oakland, California. However, General Motors claimed the stoppage was due to a lack of materials.
• February 1: Workers occupied the Chevrolet No. 4 plant in Flint.

By January 25, the strike caused major other effects across General Motors’ production chain. This led to the closure of fifty GM plants and work being stopped for 150,000 employees.

Protests supporting the strike were held at the GM buildings in New York City (February 1) and Detroit (February 6).

Resistance

On January 11, 1937, police officers with guns and tear gas tried to enter the Fisher Body 2 plant. Strikers inside the plant threw objects like hinges, bottles, and bolts at the officers. Bob Travis and Roy Reuther led the strikers. They successfully resisted several attempts by the police to enter the plant, ending the confrontation. The strikers called this event "The Battle of Running Bulls," a name that mocked the police, who were referred to as "bulls." Fourteen strikers were hurt by gunfire during the battle.

At that time, Vice President John Nance Garner wanted the federal government to stop the Flint strike. However, President Franklin D. Roosevelt did not support this idea. Instead, he encouraged General Motors (GM) to recognize a union so the factories could reopen.

On February 2, 1937, GM received a second court order to stop the strike. The order was given by Judge Edward S. Black, who owned over 3,000 shares of GM. After the United Auto Workers (UAW) learned about this, Judge Black was removed from the case. The union ignored the court order and expanded the strike to Chevrolet Plant #4. To keep GM from predicting their next move, the union announced in advance that they planned to strike another plant in the complex but changed their plan at the last moment. GM, warned by an informant in the UAW, was prepared at the plant the union had originally planned to strike but was caught off guard at Plant #4. The strike lasted 44 days.

This event forced GM to negotiate with the union. John L. Lewis, leader of the United Mine Workers and founder of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, represented the UAW during these talks. UAW President Homer Martin was sent on a speaking tour to avoid being involved directly. GM’s representatives refused to meet with the UAW, so Governor Frank Murphy acted as a messenger and mediator between the two groups. Murphy sent the Michigan National Guard to protect the strikers from police and workers hired by GM to replace them. On February 11, 1937, the two sides reached an agreement. The agreement, one page long, recognized the UAW as the only group allowed to negotiate with GM on behalf of its employees who were union members for the next six months.

Conclusion

The agreement that General Motors (GM) agreed to included rehiring workers who had participated in the strike, allowing workers to wear union symbols such as buttons, and giving six months of negotiations at plants involved in the strike to the United Auto Workers (UAW)-Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).

Although this agreement was brief, it gave the UAW immediate recognition. Workers received a 5% pay increase and were allowed to discuss the union during lunch breaks. The UAW used this opportunity to grow, signing up 100,000 GM employees and strengthening the union through strikes at GM plants across the country. Some strike participants, including Charles I. Krause, later held important roles in the union. Other notable participants included Dean Rockwell, a future D-Day hero and Greco-Roman wrestling champion; Walter Reuther, a future UAW president; and the uncle of documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, whose film Roger & Me includes a clip from the strike.

Within one year, UAW membership increased from 30,000 to 500,000 members. Employees at other car companies, such as Ford, also joined unions as the entire auto industry quickly became unionized. As noted by the BBC, "the strike was heard 'round the world."

The sit-down strike became a key method for organizing workers in the labor movement. Workers could join unions regardless of their race or education level, leading to opportunities for union agreements, pay negotiations, and government protection for workers. The strike gave workers new confidence to join unions and speak up for their rights.

However, public support for sit-down strikes did not last. For many years, corporate media criticized these protests. Over time, people either agreed with these messages or grew tired of the disruptions caused by sit-down strikes. In 1939, the United States Supreme Court ruled in NLRB v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corp. that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) could not protect workers who participated in sit-down strikes because such strikes were considered illegal.