Chrysler autoworkers strike of 1950
The Chrysler autoworkers strike of 1950 began on January 25, following protracted negotiations between the United Auto Workers (UAW) union and Chrysler management over pension funding and worker benefits. The UAW sought to establish a pension fund with a minimum contribution of one hundred dollars per month for each worker, alongside demands for wage increases and coverage for medical expenses. After Chrysler rejected these demands, citing a desire for control over the pension plan, the UAW initiated the strike, which affected approximately 89,000 workers across twenty-five plants, significantly impacting the Detroit area and its suppliers.
Negotiations resumed in early February but faced challenges, including Chrysler’s proposal to create a thirty-million-dollar pension fund without guaranteeing separate account management. Over several weeks, the union and company ultimately struck a deal on May 4, 1950, which included employer-funded pension contributions and medical insurance provisions within a five-year contract. Despite the agreement, UAW leadership expressed dissatisfaction with Chrysler's initial stance, and the strike highlighted a pivotal moment in labor relations, setting a precedent for future labor contracts that incorporated employer responsibility for worker benefits.
Chrysler autoworkers strike of 1950
The Event Strike by United Auto Workers (UAW) against Chrysler
Date January 25, 1950, to May 4, 1950
One of the longest strikes in U.S. labor history, the Chrysler autoworkers strike established precedents for employer contributions to medical and other insurance.
The autoworkers strike began on January 25, 1950, after six months of negotiations between the UAW and Chrysler. The major issue involved the form, funding, and administration of a pension fund for retired workers. The union demanded a minimum one-hundred-dollar-per-month contribution to the workers’ pension fund for each worker. In addition, the union negotiators asked for a wage increase and an allowance to cover employee hospitalization and medical expenses. The UAW had won similar benefits from Ford Motor Company one year earlier. Chrysler management responded to the demand with an offer to make up the difference between Social Security payments and the one-hundred-dollar-per-month payments. However, Chrysler wished to have complete control over the pension plan, with no union input. It was at this point that UAW president Walter Reuther stepped into the negotiations. After rejecting Chrysler’s offer as inadequate, the union set a January 25, 1950, strike date for the 89,000 Chrysler workers. On the morning of that date, the workers began leaving the shop floors of twenty-five Chrysler plants around the United States.
The strike was the first authorized against a major U.S. company since the UAW strike against the Ford Motor Company the previous May. Because the majority of the Chrysler plants were in Detroit, that city was most affected, especially as suppliers that had contracts with Chrysler began to shut down and lay off workers. Negotiations did not resume until early February. After several weeks of give-and-take with minimal results, Chrysler offered to set up a thirty-million-dollar pension fund instead of agreeing to the union’s demand for a wage increase that would pay directly into the fund. The union rejected the offer at first because there was no suggestion that the funds would be kept in a separate account. Reuther characterized the offer as an attempt to deceive the workers, the stockholders, and the public. Chrysler reacted to Reuther’s charges by stating that the company had no “double-bookkeeping intentions.” After another week of talks, the union agreed essentially to the company’s offer as long as the fund was separate and guaranteed. Other important aspects of the union counterproposal were the five-year length of the contract and an agreement that the one-hundred-dollar-per-month payments to retirees were to be in addition to any payments from Social Security.
Agreement Is Reached
Finally, on April 27, 1950, verbal agreements had been reached on all but one issue in the contract. This issue concerned the contribution from each side to the cost of medical insurance, which to that point was paid by the workers. Both sides were cautiously optimistic and began a round of nonstop negotiations, which lasted two days, broke up for a few hours, and were quickly resumed. On May 4, 1950, both sides made separate announcements about a contract agreement being reached. The final agreement included a pension fund set up and maintained by the company; company contributions to workers’ medical, life, and disability insurance; a five-year term for the contract; and no closed shop. UAW leadership was bitter, despite the contract, with President Walter Reuther’s attack on Chrysler for its intransigence. Chrysler, for its part, suffered a net loss of $1,782,790.
Impact
The UAW strike against Chrysler set a new standard for labor contracts by including agreements that involved pension and medical insurance contributions from the employer.
Bibliography
Amberg, Stephen. The Union Inspiration in American Politics: The Autoworkers and the Making of a Liberal Industrial Order. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1994. An examination of the history of auto industrial relations and the modern labor movement.
Barnard, John. Walter Reuther and the Rise of the Auto Workers. Boston: Little, Brown, 1983. Details Reuter’s role during the 1950 strike.