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America, Class War
The reckoning to come
In 1937, the workers at the Flint, Michigan, GM auto plant took over the plant and occupied it. It is famously called “the Great Sit-Down Strike.” It was probably one of the most important work strikes (sit-downs) in the history of American labor. The strike was so effective and so disruptive, that the police were called in to get the workers in line and end the strike. Workers battled back with bottles, nuts, bolts, and other items from inside the factory. Even the National Guard was called in.
Some have argued that the Flint strike changed America. It wasn’t long afterward that the big auto companies and the labor unions entered into a social contract in 1950. Labor and management negotiated contracts, workers got paid better, and business was normal. All because the workers put their feet down (ten toes down). It is famously known as the Treaty of Detroit.
It also directly led to a backlash that we are still experiencing today. Instead of working with American workers, automakers began to ship their jobs elsewhere and destroyed labor in the auto industry. They also destroyed life in cities like Flint. Other Midwest cities have never recovered. The Rust Belt is still in recovery today and some cities will never recover.
