Evening star., 1945-11-21
Strike Is Begun
BY GIN Unions
In 100 Plants
WoIkout Under Way
To Enforce Demands
For 80 Pct. Pay Roise
BY the Associated Press.

by lne Associated FreSS-
DETROIT, Nov. 2l.-The CLOS
United Auto Workers Union to-
day began its long-threatened
strike against General Motors
Corp. in support of it's demand
for a 80 per cent wage rate in
crease.
Timed for IL am, the strike ap-
parently began prematurely in at
least one plant-Buck Motors in
Flint, Mich.-and at the stated
hour UAW-CIO headquarters said
the strike was "in effect"
That announcement came from
Walter P. Reuther, CIO-UAW vice
president, who had headed union
representatives in the weeks-long
negotiations with General Motors
over the wage demand.
Thousands Affected.
The strike. pitting the Nations
largest labor union against Amer
ica's largest operating corporation,
affected 200 900 production workers,
according to company estimates.
The UAW-CIO has used a figure
ct 325, 900 as the number to be in
volved. One hundred plants in 20
States are involved.
AS GIN workers in Michigan joined
in the strike by the thousands Gov
Harry F. Kelly offered State helr
to keep order If necessary, although
he said II do not assume there will
be disorder"
Gov. Kelly made the comment
in q communication to State Polio.
Commissioner Oscar 9. Olander in
!structing the commissioner to confe
Immediately with local Iaw-enforce
ment ofilcers.
TT Is not theirs, mine or you
privilege or duty to pass judgmen
upon the merits Of the dispute,
GOV. Kelly said "The right to strik,
lis a right given by law"
Since the end Of the war GINS
employment has been heavily re-
duced, and the discrepancy In
union and company figures lay ap-
parently in the unions reference to
its membership totals as the basis
for estimating the number affected
Workers streamed out of other
GIN plants at the II am deadline
At the AC Spark Plug plant in Flint
a picket line assembled almost i'm
mediately. At the Cadillac plant il:
Detroit workers also marched out
into the streets.
First Big Peacetime Walkout.
A UAW-CIO sound truck had
been playing music before the Cad
lilac plant for half an hour before
the walkout. AS the strike began, a
unionist in the truck announced
you are now on strike" repeating
his statement.
The strike is the first big author
lied peacetime walkout of the UAW-
CIO and the unions first such blow
at General Motors since the sit
down strike of 1887.
The decision to strike followed
two months of fruitless negotiations
on the UAW- CLOS 30 per cent wage
increase demands, union rejection
OF three company counter proposals
and General Motors delay in re-
plying to union proposal for arbi-
tration Of the dispute.
c. E. Wilson, president of Gen.
eral Motors, flew here last night
from Washington, where he hae
been attending the Labor r-Manage.
ment Conference.
Chrysler Corp, the Ford Motor
Co. and other automotive Arms fac.
ing similar wage demands main.
tanned q close watch on develop.
ments.
George Romney, manager Of the
Automobile Manufacturers Associa-
ton, said Monday q shutdown o1
General Motors would force all but
one other car producer to closs
within q week. The one, which HI
indicated was Ford, could maintain
only so per cent production, h.
added.
In addition to five makes Of auto.
mobiles Chevrolet, Pontiac, Olds,
1 mobile, Buick and Cadillac-Gen,
eral Motors turns out numerous
(See GENERAL MOTORS, A-l4.,