This site comprises an oral history of the Flint sit-down strike of 1936. As these audio clips demonstrate, the strike itself has remained interesting because it was a classic case of David versus Goliath. In 1936, General Motors was the richest industrial corporation in the world, with plants in over fifty cities and towns across the United States. Moreover, the largest stockholders were the fabulously wealthy Du Ponts.

The strikers, on the other hand, averaged about a tenth grade education, came from poor families, and consisted of many Southerners and Eastern European immigrants. As such, it was easy for strike opponents to claim that they were being forced into their acts of radicalism by "outside agitators" (code words for Communists and Socialists). To a certain degree this charge may have been true, yet it is untrue to say that the aim of most of the strikers was to take over the plants on a permanent basis.

Like most of the country, they only wanted a "new deal" that might help them better their lot in life. This meant not only better working conditions and higher pay; it also meant an affirmation of their basic humanity.