Extract from Detroit despatch No. 90
of October 3rd, 1989*
Labour
Autumn is the traditional time for strikes
in the motor car industry, and this season has ran
true to form.   There hare been strikes in every part
of it, some of them serious, but all with a central
control - in this case Thomas of the BAW-CIO.   He is
working steadily and with success to unite the
factions in the different plants, and with the help
of a trained body of organisers he has managed to
bring opinion in most of them around to his side.
His spectacular success was in the election held by
the N.L.R.B. at the various branches of the Briggs
Body Co., in Detroit.   Ninety-seven per cent of the
men voted, and eighty per cent were in favour of a
closed shop, with the 010 union in charge.   Such a
victory has paved the way for future advances in all
other disputes, and big firms like General Motors
probably regard it with distaste.   An election was
also held In the Plymouth plants, and although the
result was considered a foregone conclusion, it was
nevertheless such a sweeping success that many were
astonished.   On the whole the new union seems to have
regained as much as the old one lost, and the coming
season* which will he a good one by all signs, will
be the deciding period.   There may be a great strike
in the General Meters plants, but if the arms embargo
is repealed, and there are many war orders, this may
not be the case, although from the point of view of
the orthodox labour organiser the busiest time Is the
time/
time to strike;   Probably General Motors will have
this in Kind and will forestall such action by a
judicious concession.
In connection with this, it is interesting to
note that all the plants have spent the year weeding
out those employees who are not Americans, and giving
the others a certificate recognising their claim to
American nationality once it was proven.   It is also a
fact that most of the plants, but especially
Shrysler and General Motors, have recruited a body of
reliable men to act as anti-sabotage guards. The
majority of them are British born, and ex-soldiers.
The exception is the Ford plant, where most of the
guards and maintenance men in the plants are German.
This may be because they are more docile, and not so
1 ikely to get into union activity,   British workmen
here being notoriously fussy about such things as
"rights" etc.   The Ford professional bruisers are
mostly Italian and Irish.
Martin has had a bad time on the whole. His
apostasy has lost him the support of all the union-
minded workmen, and he is not particularly popular
with the Wayne County Federation of Labour, Kartell,
the head of it, being quite ready to snub him if
necessary.   Not only that, but some of his erstwhile
friends have volunteered damaging information about
him, particularly in connection with his unfortunate
dealings with Harry Bennett, the Personnel Manager
of the Ford Company.   It seems probable now that
these dealings were encouraged by Ford for the
purpose of splitting up the union, although Martin's
ambition played a large part.   However, by flattering
this,/
m
-3-
this, Bennett managed what he must have wanted. In
the story told to the press* Bennett had given Martin
a large sum of money (possibly $25,000} In notes, and
Martin could not resist boasting about it. Father
Coughlin was "in on it" as well, and that probably
explains his championing of the Martin faction for so
long.   Either way, Bennett had nothing to lose: if
Martin did break aray and form a union under Ford
tutelage, he was safe, and if the union broke up
(as it did) the Ford Motor Company was safe from
attack for another period.   The suspicious part of
it is that Coughlin should be used by the Ford Company.
If he was used here, it seems reasonable to assume
that there may have been other dealings, and this
may explain the way in which he is able to keep on
the air in spite of the dwindling stream of
contributions from his audience.