On this day, 16 February 1937, a group of predominantly Polish women cigar makers in Detroit sat dow
On this day, 16 February 1937, a group of predominantly Polish women cigar makers in Detroit sat down demanding a 10% raise, kickstarting a militant wave of sitdown strikes across the industry in the city. The action came just a few days after a historic victory by auto workers who occupied their plant and won recognition for the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. The women worked in appalling, unsafe conditions, for pay which had been slashed during the great depression, with endemic sexual harassment by foremen. They had requested a pay increase from management, but received no response. The women had also repeatedly approached the American Federation of Labor-affiliated cigar union for assistance, but it had ignored them. So instead, on February 16, the women walked out themselves, went to the UAW headquarters and sat down inside until a Polish organiser, Stanley Nowak, agreed to help them organise cigar workers across the industry in the city. Within a few hours the strikers had organised themselves, set up committees for formulating demands, and providing food and childcare.Over the next few days women at five other cigar companies in the city occupied their factories, and held mass meetings and demonstrations. One worker described how the strikers passed the time: “Some of us sitting here are doing fancy knitting work. Others are playing cards. A few are in the ‘kitchen’ making noodles. There is music and the younger girls, with gay cellophane ribbons in their hair, are dancing.“While a couple of employers settled in early March, the others refused. On March 20 in an attempt to end the strike, police violently raided one of the plants, attacking the women, pulling their hair, tearing their clothing and beating bystanders, including a pregnant woman outside her home. Auto workers then threatened a general strike unless the police violence stopped.Eventually on April 22, the women won their demands and established their own union. https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1653481978170279/?type=3 -- source link