Entry for October 26, 2008

And he beleived that most of the leaders of the American Fedaration of labour were doing little to help them. For this reason, Lewis and the heads of several other unions formed their own group to organise unions by industry, not by skills. They called their gruop the Congress of Industrial Organizations_ the CIO and they tried immediately to gain members.

The CIO successfully organized workers in several major industries. But it succeeded only by hard work and struggle. The CIO's first big battle was against the giant automobile company- General Mortors. Late in 1935, workers in several GM factories began a sit-down strike at their machines to demand better pay and working conditions. After 45 days, GM surrendered. It recognized that the automobile workers' union had the right to represent GM workers and it agreed to negotiate a new work agreement.

The struggle in Ford Motor was more bitter. Ford company guards beat union organizers and workers. But the Ford company finally agreed to negotiate with the new union.