How United Auto Workers grew from small Detroit union into national force

The United Auto Workers grew from a small Detroit-based union into one of the most influential labor organizations in the country, helping reshape wages, benefits and working conditions for generations of American workers.

In the early days of the auto industry, Detroit Historical Society Automotive and Industrial Curator Dave Marchioni emphasizes that factories were difficult and dangerous places to work.

"In the early days of the union, the turnover rate for the auto factories when Ford instated the $5 day was about 90%," Marchioni said.

Many early auto workers came from farms and rural communities with little factory experience.

"They're thrown into a plant that's basically a metal animal," Marchioni said. "It's moving fast. It's loud. It's dangerous."

The United Auto Workers formed in Detroit in 1935 as workers pushed for better pay and conditions inside America's rapidly growing factories. One of the union's defining early moments came a year later in Flint, where General Motors workers launched what became known as the sit-down strike.

Instead of leaving the factory, workers stayed inside, preventing replacement workers from taking over and bringing production to a stop.

"Prior to the sit-down strike at GM, they had 75 members," Marchioni said.

The strike lasted 44 days and ended with General Motors recognizing the UAW.

Afterward, union membership surged.

"Two weeks later, they had 2,000 members and a year later, they had 75,000 members," Marchioni said.

The UAW became known for fighting for higher wages, improved benefits and safer working conditions for workers across the auto industry.

Today, the union remains headquartered in Detroit and continues to play a major role in labor negotiations and national politics, with its endorsements and strikes still drawing national attention.