On this day in labor history, the year was 1937.
That was the day Indiana Governor, M. Clifford Townsend, dispatched State National Guard troops to Anderson, Indiana.
The national strike against GM had just ended in victory for the union two days earlier.
UAW forces were emboldened by the militancy, solidarity and public support for the union in Flint. But Anderson was a company town.
It was home to GM’s Guide Lamp and Delco-Remy divisions.
GM employed over 11,000 of the town’s 40,000 residents.
Guide Lamp workers struck in late December and Delco-Remy plants closed to prevent sit-downs.
Foremen visited workers in their homes, demanding signatures for back-to-work petitions.
The Citizens League for Industrial Security whipped almost half the town into an anti-union frenzy.
The entire month of January was so marred by anti-union violence and intimidation, the strike had to be abandoned.
When the national strike ended, the UAW organized a victory meeting.
It was held virtually under siege by an anti-union mob.
Victor Reuther recalled he aged 10 years that night.
Anti-union violence broke out the next evening at the Gold Band Tavern.
The bar owner shot and wounded at least 10 UAW members.
Union backup headed to Anderson. Fearing UAW forces, the Indiana National Guard was deployed and Madison County was placed under martial law for 10 days.
In the classic history of the Flint Sit-Down, Sidney Fine explains that anti-union sentiment began to break down once workers learned GM had been forced to eliminate incentive pay.
The union newspaper proclaimed: “The men and women who fought on the picket line; who withstood the terror of the vigilantes; who kept their faith under trying conditions; these people changed the conditions in the shops.”
December 1 - Standing Up for Themselves and Their Patients
November 30 - Angel of the Stockyards is Born
November 29 - The Fight for $15 & A Union
November 28 - Disaster in the Mines
November 27 - Death Trap in Newark
November 26 - The Birth of William Sylvis
November 25 - Chicago Printers Walk Off the Job
November 24 - The Hollywood Ten
November 23 - The Thibodaux Massacre
November 22 - Uprising of the 20,000
November 21 - Autoworkers Join the Postwar Strike Wave
November 20 - Birth of the Time Clock
November 19 - Joe Hill’s Final Words
November 18 - Accident or Murder?
November 17 - Resisting Impressment
November 16 - NFL Players End Strike
November 15 - The IWW is Raided
November 14 - The Origins of CWA
November 13 - The Holland Tunnel Opens
November 12 - Striking Against Privatization
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