General Motors Sit-In Strikes

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Pages: 14

The American way of life during the early 1930s knew only of hardships and trials as the country experienced the financial, economic, and physical effects of the Great Depression. Across the nation, the massive economic downturn contributed to the rise in unemployment and layoffs in all areas of the workforce. Adding to these issues, men and women that were lucky enough to remain in the workforce were strained to keep up with the dangerous work conditions, the lack of support from their superiors, and poor pay, leaving many American families destitute. To combat this vicious environment, labor unions, which had been a force for American progress since the late eighteenth century, took charge of the situation and began pushing for a new environment for the workers. One particular …show more content…
The Flint sit-in-strike, also known as the GM sit-in-strike, will have major impacts on the economy, the employment efforts in the United States with the expansion of unionism, the connections between the workforce and government, and the roles of workers, both males and females. Overall, the General Motors sit-in strike was a watershed moment in American labor history, marking a significant victory for workers' rights and setting the stage for improved conditions and increased unionization in the decades that followed. The first half of the 1930s produced numerous events that caused global conflict. The Nazi Party was gaining strength and remilitarizing, Imperial Japan was preparing to invade China, Benito Mussolini was pushing white supremacy in Africa by way of Fascist invasions, and America, along with some European countries, battled socioeconomic conflicts between employers and employees after experiencing the Great