General Motors: Working Conditions At The Fisher Body Plant

December 30, 1936, conditions in Flint michigan working conditions were depressing, for the working people at the Flint General Motors (GM) Fisher Body plant. On december 30 they simply locked the doors and sat down, in reaction to the strike General Motors made a decision to transfer inspectors to other jobs because they would not leave the union. That day, General Motors attempted to transport dies out of Flint by rail to other plants with weaker unions so they could continue to manufacture cars. In response, the workers at Fisher Body Plant No. 1 sat down that afternoon, halting production and retaining possession of the plant and the dies.General Motors tried argue they were trespassers. The Auto Workers wanted to win recognition of the
President Roosevelt urged General Motors to recognise the Auto Workers so they could open in mid - February. General Motors refused to negotiate with the United Auto Workers unless the workers left the plants. The workers knew that if they left their plants, General Motors would lock them out and they would lose their position of power and would not be able to negotiate with General Motors. The workers agreed to leave the plants on the condition that General Motors would not resume production while negotiations took place. General Motors refused to accept. General Motors signed a final agreement with the United Auto Workers if the workers would start work immediately. The UAW agreed to refrain from recruiting on General Motors property and go on strike only after every other method for addressing grievances had been tried. In addition General Motors agreed to not discriminate against any United Auto Workers members and drop all of the court charges. General Motors would recognize the United Auto Workers as the only bargaining agent for getting all of its workers back in the 20 plants that had gone on
The strike was important for all auto workers to come because, the auto workers were underpaid and not treated well. The strikes changed all of that they got better wages and were treated better and procedures to protect the auto workers on the assembly line. With the raises they got they could send their kids to college, and spend more time with their children. The children were also now proud of their parents for standing up for themselves. The workers the won the strike also got medical care dental and eye care. The politicians were taking away milk from the children, instead of giving them even more milk which they needed to do. And they wouldn't give any surplus food to the hungry people. Homes were being repossessed by the bank and the companies. They were taking the women and children and putting them into one big shelter with the men. They actually were splitting up families. They would set furniture out in the street, but they had crews that would set the furniture back in and try to protect it. That became a lot of hard labor without any results. Mothers were washing out diapers in tubs and hanging them up on ropes they strung between the trees. They built fires in large oil drums to keep warm and to heat water. They would cook their meals out there and heat their water to wash clothes and bathe their babies. They were really living out in public. People