Treaty of Detroit Repealed - In These Times
In 1950, General Motors and the United Auto Workers (UAW) signed the “Treaty of Detroit.” The landmark contract helped create mass prosperity and growing equality in America over the next two decades by setting a standard for other unions that even many non-union employers felt pressure to approximate. Workers shared in rising productivity, and unions shifted to employers many of the risks that come from life in a capitalist economy. The UAW won comprehensive health insurance, pensions, cost-of-living adjustments and income protection during economic downturns. But the new contracts that the Big Three – GM, Chrysler and Ford – negotiated this fall effectively repeal that treaty. For more than three decades, auto executives, driven by the consequences of globalization and their own bumbling mismanagement, have attacked the treaty’s principles. The new contracts demonstrate that companies without unions, global labor markets and corporate power are dictating the future for American auto