Detroit: I do mind dying. A study in urban revolution - Dan Georgakas and Marvin Surkin
Submitted by wojtek on Jun 2 2013 20:53
Detroit: I Do Mind Dying tracks the extraordinary development of the Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement and the League of Revolutionary Black Workers, as they became two of the most vital political organizations of the 1960s and 1970s. Widely heralded as one the most important books on the black liberation movement and labor struggles in U.S. history.
Punching out - Martin Glaberman
Seminal text by Marty Glaberman detailing his experiences of wildcat strikes and union policing of the workforce during the heyday of the UAW in Detroit's auto factories.
Personal histories of the early CIO
Submitted by Juan Conatz on Oct 9 2012 03:23
Transcript of a talk given by 5 people who were involved in CIO organizing in the 1930s.
Holiday! The Lansing general strike of 1937
A summary of the 1937 Lansing 'Labor Holiday', a general strike in the city in response to police raids on union organizers.
The Battle of the Overpass
Submitted by Juan Conatz on Jun 1 2012 07:43
An article from The Detroit News describing a 1937 incident in which UAW organizers, in their attempts to leaflet at a factory in the Detroit area, were beat by Ford guards.
American labor on the defensive: A 1940’s odyssey - Stan Weir
Submitted by Juan Conatz on May 27 2012 08:39
An article by Stan Weir surveying the effects World War II and the post-war years had on CIO unions and the American working class.
Testimony of a black worker - Charles Denby
Submitted by Red Marriott on Feb 9 2012 23:46
Extracts from Charles Denby's excellent autobiographical work, Indignant Heart - Testimony of a Black Worker. The extracts describe his experiences as a black auto worker, factory struggles against both the bosses and the union bureaucracy and the dynamics of race within the workforce and wider society. He also describes his disillusioning experiences with Stalinist and Trotskyist parties and their hypocritical attitudes to black workers.
The origins of the union shop - Tom Wetzel
Article about the practice and limitations of union (closed) shops in the US workers' movement in the 1930s and 40s. In particular it examines how they helped unions act as a tool of discipline over workers as opposed to a tool for defending their interests.
Wartime strikes: The struggle against the no-strike pledge in the UAW during World War II - Martin Glaberman
Martin Glaberman's examination of American car industry workers wildcat strike wave, despite their own union's no strike pledge, during World War 2.
Competition, bankruptcy, and the decline of the United Auto Workers
Submitted by John E Jacobsen on Sep 23 2011 23:44
September 21st, 2011: The United Auto Workers and General Motors are wrapping up contract negotiations following their previous contract’s expiration on September 14th.
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