On February 11, 1937, after a three-month series of sit-down strikes across the United States and Canada, General Motors recognized the United Auto Workers union.
On Feb. 11, 1937, the 44-day Flint Sit-Down Strike ended when General Motors recognized the United Auto Workers as the sole bargaining unit for its workers. The strike started Dec. 29, when union members occupied a plant after hearing GM – in anticipation of a strike – had planned to move some equipment out of the plant. Eventually, President Franklin Roosevelt got involved and an agreement was forged.
Within a year, the UAW saw its membership grow to 500,000 members from 30,000. The Flint Sit-down Strike was, as the British Broadcasting System later noted, “the strike heard round the world.”
Sources :
Detroit Historical Society Facebook Page
“Sit-Down Strike Heard Round the World”, Detroit Free Press, December 10, 2008.