... excellent .... more than an exciting story of worker Davids knocking down manager Goliaths ... Instead of presenting a step-by-step plan for activism, McClelland tells stories of real men and women facing dire circumstances ... Crucially, McClelland emphasizes the key role women played in the strike, which is often misremembered as a macho standoff between union men on one side and company men on the other ... One dynamic of the Flint story McClelland might have emphasized more is the dynamic of race...McClelland could have added more nuance to his excellent book if he had further explored how dynamics of race enabled or constrained the union in pursuing different goals, strategies, and tactics.
According to the book’s subtitle, Flint was 'the strike that created the middle class.' The author, a journalist and historian from Lansing, barely bothers to substantiate that claim, but his chronicle of the strike is compelling ... It’s not that labor can’t, or shouldn’t, reorganize. But they would be wise not to ignore the unhappy coda to the story that Mr. McClelland has set forth.
... [a] fascinating labor struggle. Readers interested in American labor and social history will find McClelland’s engagingly written, informative work a key to understanding the voices and roles of those who advocated for better working conditions for all working-class people.
McClelland provides vivid depictions of the experiences of workers contrasted with a detailed look at the negotiations between the union, the company executives, and state and federal government officials. While McClelland briefly discusses labor struggles in other industries, the focus here is kept tightly on the auto industry and the Flint strike. Some of the most effective parts of the book are the portraits of key figures in the strike, including Michigan Governor Frank Murphy; Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins; and Genora Johnson, who organized the wives of striking workers ... McClelland’s engaging, readable account is a solid introduction to the rise of the labor movement in the 1930s. Recommend for readers interested in labor history and especially for those looking for a reminder of the power that workers can have when they negotiate collectively.
The signs of a rising new labor movement makes journalist Edward McClelland’s latest book, Midnight in Vehicle City: General Motors, Flint, and the Strike That Created the Middle Class, remarkably timely ... McClelland’s account of how union leaders and plant workers carried out the strike – and how GM management and local law enforcement responded to it – reads like a story of master tacticians fighting a battle ... And the story of the final stages of the negotiations is oddly riveting ... Midnight in Vehicle City isn’t flawless. McClelland’s narrative has puzzling gaps ... Still, Midnight in Vehicle City is well worth reading. It’s a reminder that during a century that included two world wars, the most important battle for American workers was the one fought in Flint.
... detailed ... McClelland makes excellent use of primary sources to spotlight local organizations, but underdevelops his claims about the strike’s broader impact. Still, students of labor history will relish this enthusiastic chronicle of a victory for ordinary workers.
Drawing on newspaper reports, memoirs, and oral histories of more than 100 strikers, McClelland uses present-tense narration to create a sense of immediacy and tension among workers locked in their plant, the Flint community in upheaval, and the protracted process of frustrating negotiations ... McClelland creates lively portraits of the many players in his well-populated history ... A spirited history of labor's triumph.
