1930's Business and the Economy | Settlement of a Sit-Down Strike

"General Motors Agreement: February 11, 1937"

Agreement

By: United Automobile Workers (UAW), represented by Wyndham Mortimer, first vice president of UAW; and General Motors (GM), represented by William S. Knudsen, president of GM. The chief mediator was Frank Murphy, governor of Michigan.

Date: February 11, 1937

Source: United Automobile Workers. "General Motors Agreement: February 11, 1937." Walter Reuther Papers, Box 18-1, Walter Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich.

About the Authors: Wyndham Mortimer (1984–1966) was the chief United Auto Workers (UAW) representative in negotiating a settlement in the Flint sit-down strike. Mortimer, who was a Communist sympathizer, was also UAW vice president and a founder of the UAW. He initiated and led the Flint strike, and was backed by the more influential and dynamic John L....