History: The Impact Of Unions On Workers

Throughout history, we see the impact of unions on workers. By uniting, workers received better wages and conditions as wells as respect. Many strikes in history are considered important because it shows that by fighting against a terrible work environment, the workers had a voice. However, the strike in Flint, Michigan against General Motors in 1937 deemed to be the most consequential. The conditions in General Motors were horrendous and the pay was extremely low. The sit-down strike happened during the Great Depression where many workers were unemployed and businesses were shutting down. Once, Franklin D. Roosevelt came into office unions started to grow which caused workers in General Motors to create a union and fight. The sit-down

The strikes outside could be ignored or stopped instantaneously with the government interfering but the General Motors sit-down strike allowed workers to block entrances to prevent police officers from entering. The strike was very unique because it allowed workers to communicate about their struggles causing them to continuously be motivated over the horrendous stories they hear. The employees of General Motors demanding not only better pay and respect but stopping supervision and slowing down the assembly line. The struggles that GM workers faced caused them to unionize without preventing different races, genders and ethnicities from entering. Many failed strikes excluded many people because they felt as though they were inferior. If one certain group thinks that they are better than another it shows an inconsistency and proves that they are in fact not unionized. This is shown in the Killing Floor where black workers are prevented from going to work. Workers in the documentary eventually lost because they ended fighting each other instead of collectively joining and taking down the employers. The workers in Flint were lasted forty-four days inside the General Motors Factory

There only purpose was to stay at home with the children while the man works to provide for the family. Women who did work were expected to be in low waged jobs because they were not capable of doing a man’s job. This changed during the war once men left their jobs. The government used propaganda to prove that women were as capable of doing men’s jobs with Rosie the Riveter. Women wanted to do more than a man could like Rosie. With the help of Rosie, women felt as though they were equal to men because they were doing the same job and many were doing it better. Women no longer wanted to stay at home with their children and do housework but wanted to hold high paying jobs where they feel important. After the war was over the propaganda went from Rosie to housewives. This did not stop women from fighting for better jobs. The documentary Rosie the Riveter shows that these women found out they had more in life than sitting at home waiting for their husbands to come. In addition, we see the importance of unions during the war and how they transformed the country. In the documentary, we clearly see that the union was always there for employees who were facing any issues. Also, unions during the war provided workers with a safety net where workers can stop production causing the government to lose supplies that were necessary in the