1945–1946 General Motors strike
From November 21, 1945, to March 13, 1946 (113 days), CIO's United Automobile Workers (UAW), organized "320,000 hourly workers" to form a nationwide strike against General Motors, workers used the tactic of the sit down strike. It was "the longest strike against a major manufacturer" that the UAW had yet seen, and it was also "the longest national GM strike in its history".
| 1945-46 United Auto Workers strike | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | November 21, 1945 – March 13, 1946 | ||
| Location | United States | ||
| Goals | Wage increases of 17.5% an hour, paid vacations, overtime | ||
| Methods | Strikes, Demonstrations | ||
| Parties | |||
| |||
| Number | |||
| |||
As director of the UAW's General Motors Department (coordinator of union relations with GM),: 21–22 Walter Reuther suggested to his colleagues the idea of striking the GM manufacturing plants with a 'one-at-a-time' strategy, which was "intended to maximize pressure on the target company." Reuther also put forth the demands of the strikers: a 30 percent increase in wages and a hold on product prices. However, the strike ended to the dissatisfaction of Walter Reuther and the UAW, and the workers received only a 17.5-percent increase in wages. However, the strike also earned Reuther more prominence within the UAW, and he was soon afterwards elected UAW President.