The 1935 National Labor Relations Act aimed to eliminate the interference of employers in the organization and unionization of workers. However, the US auto industry defied the landmark legislation, refusing to comply with autoworkers’ attempts to organize in Michigan.
On Dec. 29, 1936, General Motors (GM) transferred all union members out of its Chevrolet Fisher Body plant No 2 in Flint. The next day, at 7 a.m., workers occupied the plant, and began a sit-down strike, a tactic that had proved effective in French workers’ protests. By physically occupying the plant, the workers kept GM management out, while sympathizers protested and picketed out front.
The sit-down strikes spread within the day to other GM facilities. By Jan. 1, 1937 the strikers and their families were receiving aid from outside supporters and GM sought an injunction against the workers the following day.
The result of the Flint sit-down strikes, which lasted until Feb. 11, 1937, was GM’s recognition of the United Auto Workers. That proved a breakthrough for labor leaders who went on to organize steel and other big companies by industry rather than by individual crafts as in the past.
