Chronology: Social and economic progress
for autoworkers and America
1935: National Labor Relations Act, also known as the Wagner Act, gives workers the right to organize unions of their own choosing and to bargain with employers.
1935: Social Security Act establishes publicly funded social insurance plan to benefit retirees.
February 1937: UAW members organize at GM in Flint, Mich., after a series of sit-down strikes. A one-page agreement ends the strikes and commits the company to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the UAW, which is completed on March 12, 1937.
April 1937: Sit-down strikes end at Chrysler after the company agrees to recognize the union and negotiate a contract.
May 1937: Battle of the Overpass: Ford security guards attack UAW organizers Walter Reuther, Richard Frankensteen, J.J. Kennedy, Bob Kanter and members of the union’s women auxiliary when they attempt to pass out leaflets to workers at Ford’s Dearborn factory complex.
1939: “Strategy strike” at GM shuts down key plants and leads to exclusive UAW bargaining rights, seniority rights and the groundwork for skilled-trades apprenticeship. In October the UAW thwarts a company lockout at Chrysler, winning higher wages, the right to negotiate production standards and arbitration of grievances.
1940: UAW wins first paid vacations at GM.
June 1941: UAW members organize at Ford, overcoming intense company resistance. UAW-CIO supporters stack up a 70 percent majority in a union representation election.
Dec. 8, 1941: One day after Pearl Harbor, the UAW International Executive Board votes to declare a moratorium on strikes for the duration of World War II.
1942: UAW wins doubling of vacation time for workers with five years of seniority at GM.
1947: UAW wins first paid holidays at GM.
1948: Union wins annual improvement factor (AIF) and cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), to recognize workers’ contribution to increased productivity and protect wages against inflation. Both breakthroughs first negotiated at GM and later applied to other companies.
1949: First company-paid, jointly administered pensions for industrial workers in the United States at Ford. GM follows the pattern a year later; so does Chrysler, after a 104-day strike.
1950: First employer-paid health insurance program for industrial workers at GM. Company agrees to pay part of the premium for a hospitalization and medical program.
1955: Supplemental Unemployment Benefits negotiated at Ford, to aid laid-off workers and work toward guaranteed annual wage for autoworkers.
1961: UAW wins first fully paid medical coverage for industrial workers in the United States at GM; half-paid for retirees. Also at GM, anti-discrimination clause bans discrimination on basis of race, creed, color or national origin. At American Motors, UAW wins first-ever profit-sharing plan for autoworkers.
August 1963: UAW members join historic civil rights march in Washington.
August 1964: Civil Rights Act passes Congress, mandating an end to discrimination in schools, housing and public accommodation.
October 1964: UAW wins full hospital-surgical-medical for retirees at Chrysler; Ford and GM follow pattern. Also in the ’64 agreement: tuition reimbursement of $250 per year for job-related study courses, and life and disability insurance fully paid by the company.
1965: Voting Rights Act extends full citizenship to black Americans, who have been systematically denied the right to vote.
1965: President Johnson signs Medicare bill, creating a nationwide, publicly funded health insurance plan for all senior citizens. UAW retiree benefits are linked to Medicare, with retirees over 65 using the public program as their primary insurer, and company-paid insurance as a supplement.
1967: Prescription drug plan for UAW members at Big Three. Surviving spouses included in retiree health care plan.
1970: “30-and-out” benefits established after a 10-week strike at GM. Workers can retire after 30 years of service, regardless of age.
1970: Congress passes Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA).
1973: “30 and out” benefits won at Chrysler. Health and safety programs established to reduce workplace hazards.
1979: UAW-Chrysler workers accept concessions to save company from bankruptcy; mobilize to win loan guarantees from U.S. government. UAW President Doug Fraser appointed to Chrysler Board of Directors.
1982: Guaranteed Income Stream provides income security for laid-off workers at GM and Ford. Profit-sharing won for Ford and GM workers.
1984: UAW negotiates first-ever joint quality programs at Ford. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday becomes a paid holiday. New job security pattern set in negotiations with GM as “jobs bank” established for eligible workers with one year or more of seniority. At Chrysler, UAW wins right to recommend no new pension investments in companies doing business in South Africa that fail to adopt Sullivan anti-discrimination principles.
1985: Chrysler workers return to wage parity with Ford and GM workers; Guaranteed Income Stream also established, as well as joint programs in quality, training, education, and health and safety.
1987: Moratorium on plant closings during the life of the agreement at Ford and GM. Job security guarantees limit layoffs except in cases of market-related volume declines. Joint quality programs established at GM.
1988: Chrysler workers win job security and moratoriums on plant closings.
1990: Job security enhanced at all three companies. New Chrysler contract negotiated after two years, returning all three companies to the same contract cycle. Layoffs for volume-related reasons limited to 36 weeks during the life of the three-year agreement. Comprehensive policies against sexual harassment implemented.
1990: Nelson Mandela visits UAW members at Ford Rouge complex following his release from prison in South Africa.
1993: President Clinton signs Family and Medical Leave Act, giving workers the right to take 12 weeks off, without pay, for the birth or adoption of a child or to care for a sick family member. President Bush had vetoed a previous version of the bill in 1992.
1996: Job and income security funds increased; gains in wages, pensions and health care in all Big Three contracts. Dependent children and retirees are eligible for tuition assistance.
1999: UAW “Bargaining for Families” agenda wins 3 percent annual raise in all four years of Big Three agreements, for the first time in 20 years. To protect workers at company spin-offs, Delphi agrees to mirror GM agreement for this and one more contract cycles; Visteon workers at the time of spin-off will be Ford employees for life, and Visteon will mirror the Ford contract for this and two more contract cycles. Family Service Learning Centers established at Ford. UAW wins Election Day as a paid holiday, enabling more workers to get involved in the democratic process.
2001: President George W. Bush kills ergonomics standard implemented by President Clinton, denying millions of workers protection from on-the-job hazards.
2002: Election Day holiday bill introduced in Congress, patterned after 1999 UAW contract language. Would grant federal workers Election Day off and encourage private employers to follow suit.
