Detroit Lib of MI-Golden Jubilee Exhibit-Politics and Pressure
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Detroit Lib of MI-Golden Jubilee Exhibit-Homepage
-from Detroit Archives
*Labor had a "No Strike Pledge" during the war
After the war a series of strikes broke out:
"Late 1945 and early 1946 had brought a wave of strikes as vying Labor and industrialists strategically positioned themselves in a new post-war economy. Organized labor in Michigan, spearheaded by the United Auto Worker's Walter Reuther, organized a massive strike which shut down General Motors for 113 days beginning on November 21, 1945. Parallel strikes in steel and coal mining brought the number of striking workers to three million in the period from November 1945 to June 1946.
In a car-starved nation that sorely needed new vehicles, the industry was effectively shut down. On the day the Jubilee began, the Detroit Times reported on its front page that "All automotive companies in the Detroit area except General Motors and Kaiser-Frazier announced that they would shut down until Monday... because of the acute parts shortage and the coal [strike] situation."
Despite the triumph of Detroit's wartime production, the post-war era began with disarray and conflict."
I had been wondering about strikes at DATP, and was unable to find anything about striking during the way, now I know why! I think that the No Strike Pledge was a given, considering it was support for the Allies in the war. Pretty interesting! This find has me pretty amped about my research.
Just thought I would throw this out here tonight before I head off to bed! See you all in class tomorrow!
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