Flint Sit-Down Strike

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Photo, Genora Johnson with a very..., c. 1936-1937, Flint Sit-Down Strike
Annotation

This rich, multimedia resource provides an introduction to "the greatest strike in American history." The six-week occupation of the General Motors plant at Flint, Michigan, in 1936–37, was led by the recently-formed United Auto Workers. Using the new tactic of remaining in the plant rather than picketing outside, the strikers stopped production and won many demands.

The site begins with a short introductory essay and a small bibliography and webography. The three main sections—organization, strike, and aftermath—provide nearly 100 audio interviews recorded between 1978 and 1984 with former strikers recalling work conditions prior to the strike, experiences during the sit-in, the hostile reaction of Flint residents, the role of the Women's Auxiliary, and conditions following the strike. Each section includes a narrative essay. In addition the site presents slideshows, an audio timeline, and a Flash-generated strike map with textual and audio links.

Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument [TX]

Description

The Alibates Flint Quarries are located in Fritch, Texas, in the upper panhandle, and are the site of extensive mining operations by the local Indian tribes. The flint mined at Alibates is multicolored and uniquely suited for the formation of primitive tools. Today, a visitor center stands by the quarries, which are open to visitors year round.

The quarries offer exhibits and presentations in the visitor center, daily tours, field trip programs, and a traveling trunks service. The website offers historical information regarding Alibates, visitor information, and photo galleries of the park.

Flint Ridge [OH]

Description

Flint Ridge contains quarry pits where all of the ancient people of Ohio came to get flint for both tools and weapons. The flint was also a trade item for many of these people. The flint was especially prized by the Hopewell Culture for its quality and beauty. A walk through the site brings home how hard people labored to remove this material from the earth. The museum at Flint Ridge is built around a restored prehistoric quarry pit and explains both the digging and shaping of flint. The unique geology of the area is also a feature of the displays.

The site offers exhibits, tours, and educational programs.

United We Stand: Industry and Famous Strikes

Quiz Webform ID
22410
date_published
Teaser

Stand up (or sit down) for better working conditions! Test your knowledge of strikes in U.S. history.

quiz_instructions

As the work of another school year begins, Labor Day reminds us to honor the nation's workers. Since the rise of industry, workers have used strikes and other forms of protest to demand change and recognition. Select the correct answer for each of the labor-related questions below.

Quiz Answer



1. What U.S. census data does this map portray?

a. The 1930 relative concentration of "totally unemployed persons registered" in each state.
b. The 1870 relative amount of "total capital invested (in dollars) in manufacturing" in each state.
c. The 1920 relative concentration of "manufacturing establishments" in each state.
d. The 1950 relative concentration of "employed females" in each state.

By 1920, industry had established itself as a fixture of the American economy and way of life, though its hubs remained in the Mid-Atlantic. New York continued to be a center of industry, and Illinois, with the continuing rise of Chicago as an urban industrial center, had become one, as well.

2. On May 4, 1886, a peaceful workers' rally in Chicago's Haymarket Square ended in death and confusion when a dynamite bomb was thrown into a line of approaching police officers. The Haymarket Affair received nationwide media attention and the trials of the alleged guilty parties went all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. Four of the accused were hung and a fifth committed suicide.

What reform was the rally supporting?

a. The removal of hazardous parts-manufacturing machinery from a McCormick Harvesting Machine Company plant.
b. The passing of a minimum-wage law in the state of Illinois.
c. The paying of compensation to workers who suffered debilitating injuries from repetitive factory work.
d. The institution of the eight-hour workday.

The speakers at the Haymarket Affair supported strikers who had engaged in a May 1 nationwide walkout to support an eight-hour workday. On May 3, the first workday after the walkout, police killed two workers outside a McCormick plant during a confrontation between scabs (temporary workers hired to replace strikers) and strikers. This event provided an impetus for the Haymarket rally.

3. On February 6, 1919, more than 60,000 Seattle workers refused to work, marking the high point of a series of strikes and unrest that started in January 1919. The first labor action to effectively shut down an entire city, this strike hoped to secure what result?

a. The reinstatement of workers ousted by returning soldiers.
b. A pay raise for the city's shipyard workers.
c. The cessation of all U.S. hostilities against the Bolshevik Red Army in Russia and of any support for forces opposing the Red Army.
d. A stop to the installation of new machinery that would reduce the work force necessary in the shipyards.

During World War I, the government imposed wage controls, keeping the wages of Seattle shipyard workers down even as the shipyards expanded through war production contracts. Following the war, the workers expected a raise in their wages; when denied, approximately 25,000 members of the Metal Trades Council union alliance went on strike. A general citywide strike followed, with about 35,000 other workers striking in support of the shipyard protest. The strike officially ended on February 11—though not before touching off a widespread "Red Scare."

4. On December 30, 1936, the workers at Flint, Michigan's General Motors automobile plant began a six-week long strike to press for better working conditions. Organized by the United Auto Workers, the strike used what relatively unusual technique to make its point?

a. Strikers not only stopped working during the strike, but left town entirely, taking their families with them.
b. Strikers remained entirely silent during the strike.
c. Strikers, instead of picketing outside of the factory, occupied the factory, preventing upper management and law enforcement from entering.
d. Strikers sabotaged the factory's power supply, re-sabotaging it whenever plant management repaired it.

Known as the Flint Sit-down Strike, this strike used techniques later adapted by the civil rights movement. On December 30, workers sat down at their places and refused to leave the factory for six weeks. Provided food and supplies by supporters, the workers repelled attempts by the police to drive them out and even initiated the surprise takeover of another plant in the last two weeks of the strike.

For more information

Labourday_answer_thumbnail.jpg The map of the 1920 concentration of manufacturing establishments was generated by the University of Virginia Library's Historical Census Browser. The browser provides searchable census data for 1790 through 1960, with the option to visualize any data selections in maps such as the one above; all of the categories mentioned in Question One are categories available on the website. For Teachinghistory.org's review of the Historical Census Browser, go here.

Teachinghistory.org's reviews the Library of Congress's American Memory collection Chicago Anarchists on Trial: Evidence from the Haymarket Affair, 1886-1887 here.

The Seattle General Strike Project looks at the 1919 general strike through primary sources, including photographs, video clips, newspaper articles, and oral histories. The website is part of the University of Washington's larger Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, collecting primary sources on civil rights and labor movements throughout the city's history. NHEC reviews the Project here.

Historical Voices provides a website on the Flint Sit-down Strike: Remembering the Flint Sit-down Strike: 1936-1937. The website provides close to 100 oral history interviews with strikers, as well as essays on the events of the strike. NHEC's review of the website can be found here.

Sources
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National Eight Hour Law Proclamation, 1870
National Eight Hour Law Proclamation, 1870
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Parade banner of Veterans of the Haymarket Riot, 1895
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