Medal - 50th Anniversary of the 1937 UAW Flint, Michigan, Sit-Down Strike

Reverse

An automobile in the forefront with a large "50," in the background commemorating the anniversary of the labor action.

Script: Latin

Lettering:
1937 FLINT 1987
SIT DOWN STRIKE
UNION MADE
LOCAL 659
50

Edge

Reeded

Comment

1936 would prove pivotal. In July of 1936 there were hundreds of deaths in auto plants in Michigan that were thought to be a result of a heat wave combined with difficult working conditions3. On November 12, 1936, General Motors workers started their sit down strike, which at the time was legal, gaining control of the Body Plant Number One in Flint. On January 1, 1937, workers controlled a second Plant in Flint. Although the strike was gaining power, some of the General Motors' plants were still running - most notably Chevy Plant Number Four, the largest plant owned by GM. But on February 1, 1937, the striking workers took control of this plant.

By remaining inside the plants strikers were protected from both violence and weather as well as from the threat of being replaced with other workers unwilling to go along with the strike. Inside the plants the striking workers were playing board games, organizing concerts, and giving lectures. Outside, union supporters arranged for food to be delivered to the strikers. After 44 days of striking, GM President Alfred P. Sloan announced a $25 million wage increase to workers and recognition of the union.

This was the first major victory for unionization in America's history and its consequences were dramatic; within two weeks, 87 sit down strikes started in Detroit alone. Packard, Goodyear, and Goodrich announced immediate wage increases. Within a year, membership in United Auto Workers grew from 30,000 to 500,000 and wages for autoworkers increased by as much as 300%. This strike marked the beginning of decade of intense union activity.

https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/february/flint-michigan-sit-down-strike