"So that’s when I said,“There are women down here, mothers of children, and I beg of you to come down here and stand with your husband, your loved ones,” you know, “your brothers, and even your sweethearts,” because we had a lot of couples going together, and I’d get their girlfriends." --Genora Johnson Dollinger, interview with Sherna Gluck, posted at http://historymatters.gmu.eduThe Flint Sit Down Strike, one of the most compelling stories in Michigan history, changed the face of labor relations during the heyday of the automobile industry. And without a group of relentlessly strong Michigan women, this story might have had a very different ending.
In the 1930s, the automobile industry in Michigan was experiencing explosive growth, accompanied by the pressures of labor unrest. As the country moved out of the Great Depression, jobs in the auto industry were more valuable than gold, and in Flint, General Motors virtually owned the town. The company employed the vast majority of the city's work force, controlled city government and the community's only newspaper. Because of the monopoly, workers felt trapped in jobs that were often dangerous and always back-breaking, while the company manipulated their paychecks. Frustrated workers took over two Fisher plants on December 30, 1936 and held on to them through violent conflicts, for 44 days.
Women played a critical role in providing support to the striking workers, by standing as a kind of "first line of defense" and ensuring that the workers inside the plant had food and other necessary items during the long siege. Led by organizer Genora Johnson Dollinger, they rallied to encourage women to support the strike and were considered instrumental in turning the tide of public opinion about the strike, as they stood toe to toe with the Flint Police and auto company "goons" who were trying to end the strike by force.
If you're looking for more information about this Michigan Herstory, check out these resources:
Historical Voices - The Strike
http://www.historicalvoices.org/flint/strike.php
Historical Voices - Flint Labor History
http://www.historicalvoices.org/flint/organization.php
Genora Johnson Dollinger, founder of the Women's Emergency Brigade
http://hall.michiganwomenshalloffame.org/honoree.php
History Matters
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/136/
Walter P. Reuther Library Collection photo
http://www.reuther.wayne.edu/node/3127
The historic 1936-37 Flint auto plant strikes
by Vivian M. Baulch and Patricia Zacharias / The Detroit News
http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=115
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