Kim reports: 1. The livelihood of the strikers' families was at stake when the workers decided to revolt against their situation. The workers were fully aware of their rights and decided that the only way to get their point across without losing their jobs was to lock themselves in their plants. This was an interesting concept because, although they refused to work, they did not allow the company to send in any replacements. They fortified the factories boundaries as if it was a key point in a battlefield. Supporters brought them word of the outside world and food.

2. There are numerous key differences between the 1919 Steel and General strikes in comparison to the GM sit-down strike. These differences allowed for the sit-down strikers to prevail. First, we should look at the General Strike. The Seattle General Strike is sometimes referred to as a sympathetic strike because the men showed their support to the shipyard strikers. (Website "The Seattle General Strike of 1919"). Although within America it was the first of its kind, the strikers did not win. In the end, they did not receive higher wages. In addition, the solidarity was not consistent. The General Strike coalition was not united. Instead they were divided into three separate groups [which were?]. The sit-down strike succeeded because they were unified with thought and direction. Another key aspect is the fact that the GM workers did not leave the factories. Instead, they locked themselves within the building and refused to disperse unless changes occurred. The union noticed that the sit-down approach worked for unions in Europe so Americans decided to try the same method. (Detroit News)

Within the Detroit News publication of the events it describes the sit-down strike in terms relating to a battlefield. The riot known as "the Battle of the Running Bulls" was described in the following terms, "Twice the attacking police were repulsed. The winds had shifted and sent the tear gas back on the officers, who were then pelted with metal hinges thrown by the strikers. A crowd of sympathizers protected the strikers and the police retreated." The other violent incident reported occurred at the Chevrolet plant No. 4 in Flint. "Then company police and hundreds of thugs, armed with tear gas pistols, tear gas bombs, blackjacks and clubs manufactured in the Chevrolet woodshop, attacked all workers in the plant, using floods of tear gas." As the tensions grew so did the number of GM Sit-down strike members and supporters. Eventually it got to the point where President Roosevelt asked GM to meet with the union once more. The tension subsided. General Motors signed an agreement with the UAW, giving the union bargaining rights in 17 GM plants shut by sit-downs. (Detroit News). The GM sit-down strike was a monumental move to form a union. In addition, it showed immense unification among the workers and great resentment from the higher management. The New Deal supported the workerÕs wishes with the Wagner Act, which ensured workers the right to join unions and collectively bargain.

3. The story of the Pecan ShellersÕ Strike suggests that Mexican-Americans were seen as "nobodies" during the 1930s. They were placed in horrible working conditions and virtually all of their civil liberties were taken from them. In addition, their home lives were equally as upsetting. The low wages caused the Mexican-Americans to live in slums that consisted of floorless shacks that were closely placed together. Sanitary conditions were treacherous which caused the spread of TB. Equally as frustrating was the ownerÕs neglect to abide by the laws set by the state and federal governments. They would not allow the workers (mainly women) to form a union nor would they allow peaceful strikes. Instead, the owners would call the police and the strikers would be arrested. Within the article [which one?] it cites that two main attempts to organize a union in 1933 and 1937 were stopped. The workers experienced a pay cut (which is unconceivable considering the low margins they were already exposed to). The women decided that they would take no more and formed a strike in March 1938. It was at this point that the voice of the Pecan Workers was finally heard. "Leading women in the community such as Emma Tenayuca, and the Texas Civil Liberties Union intervened in the conflict and publicized what they viewed as unconstitutional harassment of the striking women." The women finally won the battle and received their fair wages.

Sadly, the women were not fortunate enough to fully experience this because the factories installed machinery to take the place of human labor. This strike exposed the evils of the industry and the particular companies associated with the crimes. The uncovering of this information caused the federal and state governments to take a better look at work conditions and enforced the laws that had passed such as the Wagner Act.

Mike reports: The United Auto Workers launched the first of a series of sit-down strikes against General Motors at Fisher Body Plant No. 1 in Flint. The strike lasted 44 days and became the first of many union victories. Because the workers sat down at the machines they were supposed to work, GM could not get scab workers to take their place. What the company did try to do was stop the workers wives from bringing food. Foremen would go to the wives and tell them their husband was a great worker, but, if he didn't leave, then he would never work at General Motors again. Some wives brought news of this to their husbands and some did take it seriously and left, but for the most part the strike remained strong. GM tried to shut off the heat in the building to force out the workers. The Detriot News account of the strike says the strikers compared themselves to George Washington at Valley Forge. Another account says that in fear of the pipes freezing they turned the heat back on with in an hour. "Lotta things worked for the union we hadn't even anticipated. Company tried to shut off the heat. It was a bluff. Nobody moved for a half an hour, so they turned it back on again. They didn't want the pipes to get cold." (Bob Stinson Worker at the GM plant in Flint "Hard Times by Studs Terkel)

The sitdown strike was much more effective than the steel strike or the Seattle General strike because cars were not a necessity. In the general strike, not everyone was on strike; some had to continue to do their jobs. Everyone at the GM strike was striking. Also by sitting in at their job, the whole company was shut down and could not be started up again until either all the workers were thrown out, or the management agreed to a deal. Another thing that helped the success of the strike was FDR was backing the Unions. His inaugural address was directed at GM. " Roosevelt had promised in his inaugural speech to drive out the "economic royalists," a pointed reference to the General Motors officials." (Detroit News)

The Pecan strike's success also had government support behind it. The Pecan factories were reminiscent of the sweatshops of the Lower East Side of New York at the turn of the century. The workers were paid a low wage, 2.50 a day, but were given all the pecans they could eat. The working conditions were awful. The workers were not permitted by the police to picket, even though the Wagner act gave them this right. The police arrested around 5,000 people for blocking the sidewalk. The strikers took it to court, where a judge ruled they were not treated fairly. "Union intervened in the conflict and publicized what they viewed as unconstitutional harassment of the striking women. The governor eventually called for hearings to investigate the treatment of strikers and the resulting bad publicity led the leading owner, Julius Seligmann, to submit to binding arbitration to settle the strike. The arbitrators' ruling eventually offered a compromise between the two sets of rates, setting piece wages at 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 cents per pound beginning June 1." (http://womhist.binghamton.edu/pecan/intro.htm)