May 26, 1937: The Battle of the Overpass

May 26, 1937: An even that becomes known as the Battle of the Overpass occurs, a turning point in the American labor movement. It might have been the last time the American people put up with attempts to suppress the movement.

The United Auto Workers had gotten recognition from General Motors and Chrysler. The Ford Motor Company held out: It was still run by old Henry Ford, and he was one of these rich guys who was good to you if you did what he told you to do, but if you objected to his conditions, you were worthless to him.

In 1937, the UAW planned a leaflet campaign entitled "Unionism, Not Fordism" at the pedestrian overpass over Miller Road at Gate 4 of the River Rouge Plant complex in Dearborn, Michigan, 7 miles west of downtown Detroit. At the time, Ford gave its workers an 8-hour day at $6 a day (equivalent to $124 in 2022 money). The UAW wanted a 6-hour day at $8 a day (about $165 now). The campaign was planned for shift change time on May 26, with an expected 9,000 workers both entering and leaving the plant.

At around 2:00, several of the leading UAW organizers, including Walter Reuther, Richard Frankensteen and Richard Merriweather, were asked by Detroit News photographer Scotty Kilpatrick to pose for a picture on an overpass, with the Ford sign in the background. While they were posing, men from Ford's Service Department, an internal security force under the direction of Harry Bennett, came from behind, and began to beat them. The number of attackers is disputed, but may have been as many as 40.

Frankensteen had his jacket pulled over his head, and was kicked and punched. Merriweather suffered a broken back. Reuther described some of the treatment he received:

Seven times, they raised me off the concrete and slammed me down on it. They pinned my arms... and I was punched and kicked and dragged by my feet to the stairway, thrown down the first flight of steps, picked up, slammed down on the platform and kicked down the second flight. On the ground, they beat and kicked me some more.

 
Bennett told the media, "The affair was deliberately provoked by union officials... They simply wanted to trump up a charge of Ford brutality.. I know definitely no Ford service man or plant police were involved in any way in the fight." The photographs proved him a liar, and the incident greatly increased support for the UAW and hurt Ford's reputation. Still, it took 3 more years before Ford signed a contract with the UAW.

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May 26, 1937 was a Wednesday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-0 at Yankee Stadium. So, not a good day for Detroit. Lefty Gomez allowed 9 hits, but kept the shutout. George Selkirk and Tony Lazzeri it home runs, Lou Gehrig went 1-for-4 with an RBI, and Joe DiMaggio went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Hank Greenberg went 2-for-4 for the Tigers.

* The New York Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-3 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 11-9 at Fenway Park in Boston. Jimmie Foxx went 3-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 8-6 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Washington Senators, 6-5 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Boston Bees, 6-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. This was during the experiment of the Boston National League team trying to get away from the name "Braves," but it didn't take.

* And the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates were rained out at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on June 20. The Pirates won the opener, 4-2. The Dodgers won the nightcap, also 4-2.