Freedom to work, or the right to work, is the choice to every worker on if they want to join a union. Crazy thought that this had to be established! The right to work was forged by those workers that took a stand by sitting down. The “sit-down” strike was a technique that came out of the rubber workers in Ohio. By the end of … Continue reading Sit Down to Stand Up
The 1937 Flint sit-down strikes consisted of multiple peaceful strikes that took place on the property of General Motors in hopes of taking down the leading automotive manufacture in the United States. The UAW formed in 1935 and soon realized their small peaceful rallies were not taking hold and making a big impact. As automotive workers were overworked and underpaid while working in dangerous conditions … Continue reading The New Deal and Unionism in Michigan
Topic: Think about the 1937 Flint strike (reflect both the textbook and chapter 13 of The Great Water). How did the New Deal strengthen unionism? How would the Flint workers have felt during the strike? How did this new type of striking revolutionize employer/employee relations? Continue reading Blog Topic #6 for HIS 237
The 1885 Saginaw Valley Strike, “10 Hours or No Sawdust” became the largest strike in Michigan for lumber workers. The Mills were the biggest industry in that area which proved hundreds of jobs from milling, cutting lumber and loading to many more jobs within the company. The Bay City and Saginaw Mills provided lumber to major cities in the country. (Bay-Journal) Over the years the … Continue reading Saginaw Strike of 1885
Back in the late 19th Century the lumber industry was the biggest industry in the area. Hundreds of men worked in the industry doing things from cooking, scouting, milling, and cutting lumber. Most men were ok with how their jobs were doing, but some realized that their working conditions were atrocious. These men realized that they were working for upwards of twelve hours a day … Continue reading Lumber Strikes in the Bay Area
Topic: Using my video, the annotated article (notice that I made some remarks where I disagree with the author), and the texts, discuss the 1885 Saginaw Valley Lumber Strike. The Ten Hour Law (1885), which working men (united under the Knights of Labor) fought for, was not effective enough to protect Michigan’s working men. Although a plethora of strikes were waged in numerous industries over long … Continue reading Blog Topic #4 for HIS 237
In our Michigan history class covering the time from first inhabitants of the area through the 1960s, different students will blog weekly in response to the material we covered, as well as questions that I (Professor Amy French) posed to them. Everyone in the class is responsible for commenting. Each week, I will post the blog topic for all our readers to see. –Dr. Amy … Continue reading Michigan History Blog Posts
History at Delta College 