Library Research #1 - U.S. Labor Uses A Potent New Tactic – The Sit Down Strike

LIFE Magazine

January 18, 1937

U.S. Labor Uses A Potent New Tactic – The Sit Down Strike

            “Sit-Down” is the literal word for the action strikers took in General Motor plants across the nation on December 30, 1937. The United Automobile Workers of America Union (U.A.W) was one of the least influential labor unions in any major US industry up until the end of 1936. However, by the end of 1937, the union had effectively tied up the great and powerful General Motors Corporation. Oddly enough, the workers had done it by the simple process of sitting down - a process that was rather unknown in the US. Across the nation General Motors had various plants employing thousands of workers. By strategically executing the “sit down” operation in key plants around the nation, the workers, which refused to budge, managed to cease operations of GM plants around the country.

            According to the article, the term “sit-down” was a new word in the labor’s vocabulary. As a newly discovered tactic for battle against the powerful corporations, the U.A.W imported the sit-down theory from France. The motor industry of the United States was in no way familiar with this tactic or with the threat that the union posed against them. The article depicts emotions of surprise and fright as the motor corporations began to realize the threat that these unions posed against them. Reading the article, I felt as if for the first time the automobile industry found itself highly vulnerable. As such powerful and massive corporations Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors operated as companies of strength and pride. However once the workers were out of work, the corporation realized that a serious labor strike could halt operations, a realization that made chiefly Walter P Chrysler of Chrysler Corp. and Alfred P Sloan Jr. of General Motors turn their heads.

            While the workers executed operation sit-down, wives, children, and friends would pass by the factories bringing bread, clean clothes, or conversation to the sitting workers. Refusing to budge until General Motors agreed to a national conference on wages, hours, and working conditions, the U.A.W workers sat at their posts enjoying the break. The article defines the assembly line and shares how its innovation resulted in great advances in the factories. Understanding how each company is a giant assembly line, fed by bodies, tires, windows, upholstery, and other various parts, if one part of this line goes on strike and sits down, the rest of the line is forced to do the same causing a complete shut down.

            One of the first things I noticed when reading through this edition of TIME magazine was the price of the magazine. Ten cents. That’s all it cost to buy an issue of TIME Magazine in 1937. Today, it costs about three fifty to four bucks to purchase an issue of the magazine. One of the advertisements that first caught my attention was a car advertisement for a Plymouth. Focused on how quiet the Plymouth is, the advertisement sells its customers on the “hushed ride” of the new car. Another advertisement that caught my eye was an advertisement for Camel Cigarettes. The top of the advertisement reads, “For Digestion’s Sake… Smoke Camels!” When I read this, I was considerably confused. Rather than warning signs and statements telling pregnant women not to smoke, the advertisement highlights the idea that “digestion often needs a lift to”. The advertisement reviews the benefits of smoking Camels and demonstrates how they help one to enjoy their food more. The advertisement was very strange to me and was nothing like the cigarette advertisements we see today.

     This article provided both an interesting read and some insight into what the labor world of the U.S. was like in the late 30s. As workers in factories across the nation became fed up with their working conditions and poor treatment, the workers united and fought back. While the sit-down tactic had not been seen in years before, it quickly developed into an effective and efficient method of battle against the powerful corporations. The advertisements throughout the magazine provided background of the world in the 1930s as well. Reviewing their selling points as well as their targeted audiences, the advertisements provided a better understanding of the character of the time period. Through both the article itself and the embedded advertisements, I was able to view the era in a different light and understand and discover aspects I never understood before.            

 

David Belpedio