Autolite.pdf

The 1934 Toledo Auto-Lite strike occurred amidst high unemployment, with 80% of Toledo's workers jobless, and those employed facing mistreatment and intimidation by managers. The Auto-Lite plant, producing electrical parts for the automobile industry, had a system where foremen held discretionary power over hiring, firing, and job assignments, and workers were expected to work without vacations or sick leave. The plant implemented productivity methods, including the Fredrick Winslow Taylor method and the Bedeaux System, which increased pressure on workers without corresponding pay increases. Workers felt management held absolute power over their economic fate, leading to a desire to organize a union, which ultimately turned into a test of strength between management and workers. The strike began in May 1934, with Auto-Lite managers refusing to negotiate and instead preparing for a strike by stockpiling food, ammunition, and tear gas, and recruiting strikebreakers. The management presented themselves as protectors of the company's interests, describing union organizers as destructive agitators and communists.