Sit-Down Book Report

Sit-down is a historical non-fiction book. It depicts the events of the

1936-1937 strike at General Motors plants in Flint and around the country.

The author of this book is Sidney Fine. In this report you will learn what I

learned about the struggle between Corporations and the beginning of

unionization.

Sit-down is about the General Motors Sit-down strike of 1936-1937.

This strike was mainly about the right for workers to represent themselves

through collective bargaining. The union supporters went through a long,

inhumane and bloody fight. hey finally won the fight on February, 11 1937.

On this day General Motors recognized the United Auto Workers as the

collective-bargaining agency for their employees.

The 4 main characters involved with the strike are GM President

Alfred Sloan Jr., executive Vice President Willam Knudsen, U.A.W.

President Homer Martin and the Governor of Michigan, Frank Murphy.

Sloan and Knudsen represented the GM stock holders and the interest of

management. They did not want collective bargaining because it would take

power away from management. Martin represented the working people on

GM assembly lines and all auto workers in the United States of America.

Governor Murphy's role was to mediate, but he was on General Motors side.

He insisted that the sit-downers get basic human right's such as food, heat,

and water. Murphy also controlled the police and National Guard. They shot

and killed several strikers. After it was all over Martin and the United Auto

workers emerged victorious.

The strike started in Flint on December 30,1936. The GM factories

were described as a mess, because of the lack of sanitation. There was also

spare parts and other miscellaneous weapons used against the cops in the

Battle of the Running Bulls laying