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 at the General Motors factory in Flint, Michigan, United States. This event helped turn the United Automobile Workers (UAW) from a group of small, separate unions on the edges of the car industry into a major labor union. It also led to the formation of unions across the American automobile industry.

Background

Before the Great Depression, General Motors (GM) employed 208,981 workers who were paid by the hour. These workers earned about $1,195 each year. After the Great Depression, more jobs became available, but GM had 30,000 fewer workers than it had before the Depression. In 1936, wages increased across the country, but at GM, wages did not change. Experts estimated that a family of four needed $1,434.79 each year to live. GM’s records showed that full-time workers earned between $1,200 and $1,300 annually. Workers also had to work faster to make up 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. The union decided it could not grow by organizing smaller factories as it had before. Instead, it focused on organizing workers in the largest and most powerful company, General Motors Corporation. The union targeted GM’s most important factories, which were located in Flint, Michigan. Henry Kraus, a UAW organizer, described Flint as the central part of GM’s operations. The factories in Flint were essential for making GM cars and cars from GM’s subsidiaries, like Chevrolet and Buick. Chevrolet and Buick factories in Flint employed 14,000 and 16,000 workers, respectively, making them the largest of GM’s many factories. Another Chevrolet factory, Plant No. 4, was important because it made engines for all Chevrolet cars sold at the time. Strikes at these factories would greatly slow GM’s production nationwide. The UAW had recently separated from a larger union called the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

Organizing workers in Flint was challenging and risky. GM controlled politics in Flint and closely watched outsiders. Wyndham Mortimer, the first UAW leader assigned to Flint, was followed by people likely working for GM after he arrived in June 1936. GM also used many spies in its factories. Mortimer learned that the existing local unions in Flint, which had only 122 members out of 45,000 workers, were filled with spies. To stay safe, Mortimer and other UAW leaders met with workers in their homes and kept membership lists secret.

As the UAW studied GM, it found that only two GM factories made the molds used to shape car 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 factories after New Year’s, when Frank Murphy would become governor of Michigan.

The strike

The union had to speed up its plans because workers at Cleveland's Fisher Body plant went on strike on December 28, 1936, after two brothers were fired from the assembly line. The United Auto Workers (UAW) 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. Genora Johnson Dollinger was a key organizer and protester during the Flint sit-down strike. She also helped create the all-female Emergency Brigade to protect workers inside the factory. Robert Travis was the UAW organizer during the strike. On December 30 at 8:00 AM, the union found out that GM was planning to move the dies out of Fisher #1. UAW leader Bob Travis called a meeting at the union hall across the street from the plant, explained the situation, and sent workers to occupy the factory. The Flint sit-down strike began.

In a regular strike, union members leave the plant and form a picket line to stop others from entering, which prevents the employer from working. In a sit-down strike, workers stay inside the plant to keep management and others out. By staying inside the factory instead of standing outside, workers stopped owners from hiring replacement workers to continue production. It was easier to keep workers' spirits high during a sit-down strike than during a regular strike. Sit-downers were protected from outside pressures and community hostility that could affect their actions. Bad weather did not affect sit-downers as it did workers in regular strikes.

The Flint sit-down strikers created their own system of rules inside the strike. Workers elected a mayor and other officials to help keep order in the plant. Departments included Organized Recreation, Information, Postal Service, and Sanitation. Rules were enforced by a group called a "Kangaroo Court." If someone broke the rules, they had a trial, and punishments ranged from washing dishes to being removed from the plant in extreme cases. Keeping order was important because if damage happened, the Governor would send the National Guard. The civic government also made sure supplies were brought into the plant from friendly businesses outside. Most meals for the about 2,000 workers inside the plant were given free of charge by a diner across the street.

Spread of the strike

After 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 a sit-down strike.
• January 4: A sit-down strike occurred at Toledo, Ohio’s Chevrolet plant.
• January 5: Sit-down strikes took place at Chevrolet and Fisher Body plants in Janesville.
• January 8: A sit-down strike began at the 3800-worker Cadillac plant in Detroit, organized by Walther Reuther’s West Side local.
• January 12: A sit-down strike started at the Fleetwood plant in Detroit, a Cadillac supplier. About ninety workers participated. The strike continued until January 15, when it changed into a conventional strike. Reuther said the action was a protest against police brutality in Flint on January 11.
• January 13: A conventional strike happened at St. Louis Fisher Body and Chevrolet after a failed sit-down attempt the day before. Striking workers received support from union members in Kansas City.
• January 25: A strike reportedly occurred at 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 Chevrolet No. 4 plant in Flint.

By January 25, the strike had spread to other parts of General Motors’ production, causing fifty GM plants to close and suspending work for 150,000 employees.

Protests supporting the strike were held at 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 during a labor strike. The workers inside the plant, led by Bob Travis and Roy Reuther, threw objects like hinges, bottles, and bolts at the police. They resisted several attacks and ended the confrontation. The workers called this event "The Battle of Running Bulls," a name that made fun of the police, who were called "bulls." Fourteen workers were hurt by gunfire during the event.

At that time, Vice President John Nance Garner wanted the federal government to stop the Flint strike, but President Franklin D. Roosevelt did not support this idea. Instead, Roosevelt 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 judge who approved the order, Edward S. Black, owned over 3,000 shares of GM. After the United Auto Workers (UAW) discovered this, the judge was banned from the case. The union ignored the court order and expanded the strike to Chevrolet Plant #4. To keep their plans secret, the union announced they would strike another plant but changed their plan at the last moment. GM, warned by an informant in the UAW, was prepared at the first plant but caught the union by surprise 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 the Congress of Industrial Organizations, represented the UAW during these talks. UAW President Homer Martin traveled 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 groups. Murphy sent the Michigan National Guard to protect the strikers from police and workers who were hired to replace them. On February 11, 1937, the two sides reached an agreement. The deal, written on one page, recognized the UAW as the only group allowed to negotiate for GM workers 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 buttons and symbols that showed support for unions, and giving six months of negotiations in plants that had been involved in the strike to the United Auto Workers (UAW)-CIO.

Although the agreement was short, 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 chance to grow, adding 100,000 GM employees to its membership. The union also strengthened its power through strikes at GM plants across the country. Some people who took part in the strike, like Charles I. Krause, later held important roles in the union. Others who participated included Dean Rockwell, a future hero of D-Day and a champion in Greco-Roman wrestling; Walter Reuther, a future leader of the UAW; and the uncle of filmmaker Michael Moore, whose film Roger & Me includes footage from the strike.

Within one year, UAW membership increased from 30,000 to 500,000 members. Workers at other car companies, such as Ford, also joined the union as the entire automobile industry quickly became unionized. As the BBC later reported, "the strike was heard 'round the world."

The sit-down strike became a major method for organizing workers in the labor movement. Workers of all races and education levels could join unions, leading to agreements about pay, negotiations about wages, and government protection for employees. 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, media outlets criticized these protests. Some people agreed with these messages, while others grew tired of the disruptions caused by the 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.