April 16, 1970, Detroit, Michigan — Detroit could be called anything but harmonious between White and Black residents. There was a history of civil unrest going back to at least 1943 when Whites attacked Black workers over integrated housing and a push for equality and integration in the machine works and assembly lines of World War II production. Racial unrest was a common news item and event in the city.
So, the walkout by a mixed assembly of United Auto Workers from the Chrysler Gear & Axle plant on Eldon Avenue in April 1970 in support of a Black worker was anything but expected. However, this incident showed that the one thing workers could agree on was the safety of workers
and bullying by management.
On April 16, machinist John Scott
was going off shift when he was confronted by his foreman, Irwin Ashlock.
Ashlock felt that Scott’s output production was poor and threatened him with
disciplinary action. Scott argued with Ashlock that his expectations weren’t
realistic and well above what the union contract stated. Infuriated Ashlock had
picked up a pinion gear and threatened to bash Scott’s head in. Not only was
this an egregious threat by someone in management it was a harsh physical
threat as Ashlock was 6’1” and weighed about 200 pounds while Scott was 5’6”
and weighed around 105 pounds. After the two had been separated, Scott was
ordered off the grounds, and when he got home, he received a phone call stating he
had been dismissed.
In 1970, there were no “Right
to Work” laws, and the UAW contract stated that a union worker had to be given a
legitimate reason for being fired. Scott was told that he was fired for
threatening his supervisor with a knife. Scott then called his union representative
and friends who were members of the all-black Eldon Avenue Revolutionary Union Movement, who
started notifying workers to walk out.
Scott and Ashlock worked the
third shift, or the overnight, and by the time the first shift went to break on
Friday, they had agreed to walk off because Scott had been fired and Ashlock had
not. Witnesses said that Ashlock had lied and that there had been a clear pattern of
racial bias.
This “Wildcat” strike to support Scott
was unusual, but it was also a time of labor unrest, and there had been ongoing
negotiations between the UAW and the Big Three auto makers. One of the sticking
issues, particularly for Chrysler, was their arbitrary production goals that
often seemed to have racial or gender biased reasons. Safety was also a concern, as just a few weeks before the Scott-Ashlock incident, a 51-year-old female had
lost her arm in a machine accident. While the UAW local was willing to negotiate, they didn’t call for a strike; it was the Eldon Avenue Revolutionary Union
Movement that had, and the nearly 4000 workers at the plant listened.
All workers returned for the
first shift on Monday morning while the UAW negotiated for Scott’s return and
Ashlock’s firing. They had told the rank and file to give it two weeks. Within
the week, Scott returned, and Ashlock was gone. Such was the power of unity. It
wouldn’t last. In August of 1970 was the Memorial Park riots were led by alienated
White youth. In September, the UAW called for a full strike against Chrysler. 400,000
workers struck against Chrysler for 67 days, the longest auto workers' strike in
history. There were riots in 1975 and 1984 caused by racial tensions, poverty, and police brutality against the Black residents.
Sources:
https://libcom.org/article/black-cats-white-cats-wildcats-auto-workers-detroit-1969
https://rs4.reuther.wayne.edu/LR000874/BOX_02_PDF/LR000874_01_02_A_002_029_001.pdf
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1974/11/20/james-johnson-pbnbo-one-knew-who/
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