On this day in labor history, the year was 1941.
That was the day Ford Motor Company finally signed with the United Auto Workers.
Ford was last of the Big 3 to sign with the UAW.
The hard-won victory came after nearly three decades of struggle to organize there.
Anyone attempting to build a union had been met with the full force of Ford’s Service Department, led by thug Henry Bennett.
Intimidation, Jew-baiting, redbaiting, firings, and beatings were common in the years leading up to unionization.
Some unionists had even been murdered.
The company finally caved after a solid strike shut down production at the massive River Rouge complex in April.
Several union committee members had been fired and the UAW called a strike in their defense.
Tens of thousands of black and white workers poured out of their departments to join the picket lines.
They blocked all plant gates with their cars
Strike bulletins, press statements and radio broadcasts kept workers updated on the latest decisions.
A week into the strike, the NLRB ruled an election be held within 45 days.
Strikers went back to work on guarantees their coworkers would be reinstated.
The following month, the UAW won union certification, after 60,000 rallied in Detroit’s Cadillac Square in support.
When Ford finally signed the first contract, it guaranteed competitive wages, a closed shop, and dues check-off.
The first contract also ensured seniority rights, grievance procedures, and pensions.
The union immediately took advantage of the contract clause that prohibited racial discrimination.
They set up a commission to combat racism on the shop floor, issuing anti-racist literature and backing the elections of black committeemen and stewards.
Labor historian Steve Babson notes, “It was a watershed in American history.”
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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