Battle of the Overpass

. The United Auto Workers labor union was founded in 1935, and by 1937 it had attracted significant support. Strikes in the United States in the 1930s extracted major concessions from employers in multiple industries, although they often resulted in violence against strikers. Though strikes resulted in major victories against employers nationally, the Ford Motor Company proved difficult to organize. The most extreme example of Ford's repression was the Ford Hunger March (or Ford Massacre) of 1932, which was planned as a peaceful march from Detroit into Dearborn, ending at the Rouge Plant employment office on Miller Road. The march was brutally suppressed by Bennett, his forces, and the Dearborn police, with five marchers killed and dozens injured by machine gun fire. Ford's history of brutality against union organizers was accompanied by an understanding of the power of its workforce. The Local 174 chapter of UAW organized a sit-down strike against the Kelsey-Hayes Wheel Company of Detroit in early December 1936, which impacted production at the Rouge plant. Local 174 gained members rapidly after its success at Kelsey-Hayes, and planned to organize the workers at the much larger Rouge plant. Tactics developed at Kelsey-Hayes were used at the Flint sit-down strike later that month, which resulted in major gains in membership and national recognition for the UAW. ==Conflict==

UAW Local 174 planned a leaflet campaign titled, "Unionism, Not Fordism", at the pedestrian overpass above Miller Road at Gate 4 of the River Rouge Plant complex. The leaflet campaign was planned for the shift change, when many of the plant's 90,000 workers would be present. The leaflets to be distributed by the UAW demanded a work day plan of six hours for , in contrast to the eight-hour day for then in place. The leaflets cited the success of the organizers at General Motors, Chrysler, and Briggs Manufacturing Company, and promised that the UAW would "End the Ford Service System". At approximately 2 p.m., several of the leading UAW union organizers, including Walter Reuther and Richard Frankensteen, were asked by a Detroit News photographer, James R. "Scotty" Kilpatrick, to pose for a picture on the overpass, with the Ford sign in the background. While they were posing, men from Ford's Service Department came from behind and beat them. The number of attackers is disputed, but may have been 40. The Union breakers were identified as Pinkertons. Frankensteen had his jacket pulled over his head and was kicked and punched. One union organizer, Richard Merriweather, suffered a broken back from the beating. ==Aftermath==

The security forces mob attempted to destroy photographic plates, but the Detroit News photographer James R. Kilpatrick hid the plates under the back seat of his car, and surrendered useless plates he had on his front seat. News and photos of the brutal attack made headlines in newspapers across the country. The Battle of the Overpass led to a series of actions against Ford by the UAW, culminating in a 1941 strike at the Rouge. The 1941 strike concluded with a signed contract between the UAW and Ford, the final such contract at the Big Three automakers. ==Legacy==

A rebuilt overpass stands at Gate 4 of the Rouge plant, along Miller Road. It bears the logos of the United Auto Workers and the Ford Motor Company. ==See also==