Flint has a long and rich history of union involvement and organization. The following list is by no means a complete listing of the resources at the Flint Public Library, but does reflect on the vibrancy of the unions in Flint and the important role they have played in the development of our community.
Books || Films || Periodicals || Websites
50th Anniversary Sitdown Strike Commemorative
Calendar
Produced by UAW local 569, this calendar is filled with pictures from
the sit-down strike and facts from the history of the UAW and the labor
movement at large. It also includes a reproduction of the agreement signed
between GM and the UAW that ended the strike.
American Vanguard: The United Auto Workers During
The Reuther Years 1935-1970 by John Barnard
The struggles and victories of the UAW form an important chapter in the
story of American democracy. American Vanguard is the first and only
history of the union available for both general and academic audiences.
In this thorough and engaging narrative, John Barnard not only records
the controversial issues tackled by the UAW, but also lends them immediacy
through details about the workers and their environments, the leaders
and the challenges that they faced outside and inside the organization,
and the vision that guided many of these activists.
Bread and Roses: The Struggle of American Labor,
1865-1915 by Milton Meltzer
Meltzer uses original source material to portray the momentous changes
that took place in American labor, industry, and trade-unionism following
the Civil War. Focuses on the work environment in this early age of mass
production and mechanization, and shows how abusive conditions often
led to labor unrest.
Early Carriage and Auto Unions: The Impact of
Industrialization and Rival Unionism by Jack Skeels
This article focuses on the historical growth of carriage and automobile
unions from 1891 to 1924. Copy of article from Industrial and Labor Relations
Review, July 1964.
The Flint Sit-Down Strike by Thomas Karman
Copy of article from Michigan History, June 1962.
Flint: When Men Build Automobiles Who Builds
Their City? by John Ihlder
A very interesting article discussing Flint’s housing needs as
the city increased in size and industry. “This…is the town
where they sleep them so thick that their feet hang out of the windows…From
the business district stretch wide tree-shaded streets lined with comfortable
frame houses, each surrounded by its wide yard.” (p. 549) Copy
of article from The Survey, September 1916.
Heroes of Unwritten Story: The UAW, 1934-39 by Henry Kraus
The early United Automobile Workers union comes vividly to life in this "participant's
account" of the development of an organization that once embodied
the promise of the American labor movement. Henry Kraus, a UAW founder
and the foremost labor journalist of that time, combines interviews conducted
more than fifty years ago with a decade of more recent archival research
to present a richly detailed account of the union's beginnings.
The History of UAW Local 659: We Make Our Own
History by The Local 659 History Committee
A history of UAW Local 659, written by its
members.
How Industrial Unionism Was Won: The Great Flint
Sit-Down Strike Against General Motors by Walter Linder
A history of the sit-down strike. “If there is one overriding lesson
to be learnt from the Great Flint Sit-down it is that workers acting
in unity and solidarity can triumph over the most powerful weapons the
ruling class throws against them.” Includes black and white photos.
Progressive Labor Party Pamphlet.
Labor on the March by Edward Levinson
Walter P. Reuther asserts that Labor on the March “recreates, better
than any other book I know, the prevailing atmosphere of those turbulent
times of the 1930’s which saw the beginning of organization into
unions…” (p. xi)
The Labor Wars: From the Molly Maguires to the
Sit-downs by Sidney Lens
From the first famous martyrs, the “Molly Maguires” in the
Pennsylvania coal fields one hundred years ago, to the crucial workers’ victory
of the 1930’s in the sit-down strike against General Motors, it
has been a history of pitched battles that frequently erupted into open
warfare. The Labor War is Lens’ account of those bloody and revolutionary
battles, but it is also the story of the factional wars within the movement
itself and the great leaders the movement generated.
The Many and the Few: A Chronicle of the Dynamic
Auto Workers by Henry Kraus
The Many and the Few recounts the dramatic "inside" story of
one of the pivotal strikes in American history. For six weeks in 1937
workers at General Motors' Flint, Michigan plant refused to budge from
their sit-down strike. That action changed the course of industrial and
labor history; General Motors finally agreed to recognize the United
Auto Workers as the sole bargaining agent in all GM plants. Through it
all, UAW activist Henry Kraus was there.
The Most Dangerous Man in Detroit: Walter Reuther
and the Fate of American Labor by Nelson
Lichtenstein
Reuther, the president of the United Automobile Workers from 1946 to
1970, may not have had all the answers, but at least he was asking the
right questions. The Most Dangerous Man in Detroit vividly recounts Reuther's
remarkable ascent: his days as a skilled worker at Henry Ford's great
River Rouge complex, his two-year odyssey in the Soviet Union's infant
auto industry in the early 1930s, and his immersion in the violent labor
upheavals of the late 1930s that gave rise to the CIO.
Not Automatic: Women and the Left in the Forging
of the Auto Workers' Union (2000)
Sol Dollinger recounts how workers, especially activists on the political
left, created an auto union and struggled with one another over what
shape the union should take. In an oral history conducted by Susan Rosenthal,
Genora Johnson Dollinger tells the gripping tale of her role in various
struggles, both political and personal.
Organize: My Life as a Union Man by Wyndham
Mortimer
A personal account of Wyndham Mortimer’s life as a union organizer;
he was largely responsible for the sit-down strike.
Reuther: A Daughter Strikes by Elisabeth Reuther
Dickmeyer
Despite what the title might imply, Dickmeyer’s biography of her
father is uncritical to the point of doting. The Walter Reuther we see
is self-disciplined, driven, and persistent. She provides a valuable
insight into the life and philosophy of one of the most important figures
in American labor.
Shifting Fortunes: The Rise and Decline of American
Labor, From the 1820s to the Present by
Daniel Nelson
In this illuminating survey of American labor from the 1820s to the present,
Daniel Nelson looks for the reasons why union activity has ebbed and
flowed since the onset of the Industrial Revolution. Rather than simply
summarizing other people's books, Mr. Nelson offers an original and provocative
view of the union experience in America.
Shut the Goddam Plant!: The Great Sit-down Strike
That Transformed American Industry by Stephen
Mears
This article describes the sit-down strike from the auto workers point
of view, and includes many black and white pictures. It portrays the
strikers in glowing terms, equating them with men in the battlefield
who experience solidarity with their fellow brothers. Copy of article
in American Heritage, April 1982.
Sit-down: The General Motors Strike of 1936-1937 by Sidney Fine
An excellent account of the sit-down strike. “The GM sit-down strike
of 1936-37 was, all in all, the most significant American labor conflict
of the twentieth century.” (p. 341)
Sit-down: What’s Happened in the Automobile Industry Since Enactment
of the National Labor Relations Act
by the Automobile Manufacturers Association
“…
As told to Congress. This is a report on conditions in the motor plants
presented, with recommendations, to a United States Senate committee
considering amendment of the Wagner Act.” (Title page) Presentation
made June 27, 1939 before the Senate Committee on Education and Labor
by William J. Cronin, Secretary, Manufacturers Committee, Automobile
Manufacturers Association, which organization includes all the manufacturers
of Motor Vehicles with the exception of the Ford Motor Company.” (p.
1)
Sit-Down Strike: 50th Anniversary Scrapbook
Created by Flint Public Library staffers, this collection of articles
from the Flint Journal comprises a unique historical resource on this
pivotal moment in the history of organized labor.
Story of the General Motors Strike: Submitted to the Stockholders by Alfred Sloan
Originally a report sent by General Motors to its stockholders; a copy
was donated to FPL by a community member. The report is an intriguing
account of the sit-down strike from General Motors point of view.
Turbulent Years: A History of the American Worker
1933-1941 by Irving Bernstein
Turbulent Years discusses “the development of widespread unionism
and collective bargaining in American industry and of public policy relating
to collective bargaining during the New Deal.” (p. ix)
UAW and Walter Reuther by Irving Howe and B.J. Widick
UAW and Walter Reauther tells the story of the formation of the UAW and
why it became a such powerful force, and discusses Walter Reuther and
his rise to leadership.
United We Stand: the Unprecedented Story of
the GM-UAW Quality Partnership by Thomas L. Weekley
Two top executives--one from the powerful United Auto Workers union and
one from auto titan General Motors--offer a fascinating inside look at
labor-management relations that profiles the most creative approach yet
to TQM: a "Quality Network" that has revitalized both camps
and holds promise for any unionized workplace.
“We Make our Own History”: 50 Years of the UAW, 1935-1985
The 50th anniversary of the UAW was the event that prompted the creation
of this beautiful calendar. It contains pictures from every decade of
those 50 years, along with commemorating important dates in UAW history.
With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women's
Emergency Brigade
Illustrates the role of women in the General Motor's sit-down strike
of 1936-1937, focusing on the Women's Emergency Brigade. Brigade members
are interviewed on the 40th anniversary of the strike.
AC Sparkler: The Voice of the AC Worker
Official publication of the Local 651, UAW. Available for the years:
1943-1993, 2000-2006
Eye Opener
Official Publication of Local 598, UAW. Available for the years: 1968-2007
Headlight, The; Flint UAW News
Official Publication of Local 599, UAW. Available for the years: 1941-1949,
1964-2006
Searchlight, The
Official Publication of Local 659, UAW. Available for the years: 1944-1960,
1970-1972, 1978-1993, 1995-2007.
AFL-CIO, America's Union Movement
The official website of the American Federation of Labor and Congress
of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a voluntary federation of 55
national and international labor unions.
International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement
Workers of America
The official website of the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace
and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), which is one of
the largest and most diverse unions in North America, with members in
virtually every sector of the economy.
Labor Unions, About.com
About.com provides information on several aspects of Labor Unions, including What is a Labor Union, Reasons to Unionize, AFL-CIO History and Profile,
Union Jobs and more.
Walter P. Reuther Library
“The Reuther (Library) is home to the Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs
and the Wayne State University Archives. It collects, preserves and provides
access to the heritage of the American labor movement and related reform
movements of the twentieth century. The collection also includes urban
affairs, with particular focus on the history of metropolitan Detroit.”
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