July 8, 1968 – Dodge strike rocks Detroit
On this day in 1968 the Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement (DRUM), which consisted of black auto workers, went on a wildcat strike to protest working conditions at Dodge’s Hamtramck assembly plant. A wildcat strike is one not supported or endorsed by the leadership of the Union the workers are members of. In this case, the United Auto Workers. At the time of the strike an estimated 70 percent of the workers at the plant were black, yet it was exceedingly rare for black men or women to rise to any sort of management position or higher within the auto industry. This observation became a primary cause for concern among the striking workers.
Some 4,000 workers participated in the strike that lasted two and half days. They ultimately prevented or delayed the production of 3,000 cars. I...
