The Ford Hunger March

The Ford Hunger March. March 7, 1932. Approximately 3,000 unemployed workers and labor activists marched from Oakwood to the Ford Employment Office, intent on delivering demands for better working conditions. When the group met resistance from Dearborn Police, five men were killed., The Great Depression Hits Detroit , Prior to the 1929 stock market crash, Ford Motor Company employed over 122,000 workers. By August 1931, the payroll was down to 37,000. the depression's impact on Detroit was devastating. With 41,000 vacant houses, the Detroit Police reported "1,500 homeless workers sleeping in parks, alleys, and other out-of-door places.", The assembly line was made more efficient with manpower reductions and strict rules. Workers could not talk, smoke, or snack while at their work stations. Lunch breaks were a strict 15 minutes. Waiting-time for repairs or parts was unpaid., Organizing the March , On March 6, 1932, a rally was held at Danceland, a popular event hall. Overnight, local leaders completed plans for the next day's march and a list of fourteen demands., Demands for presentation to Henry Ford: , 1. Jobs for all laid-off Ford workers , 2. Immediate payment of fifty percent of wages to laid off workers , 3. Six-hour day without reduction in pay , 4. Slowing down of the deadly speed up , 5. Two fifteen-minute rest periods. , 6. No discrimination against Negroes as to jobs, relief, medical service , 7. Free medical aid at the Ford Hospital for employed and unemployed Ford workers and their families , 8. Five tons of coke or coal for the winter , 9. Abolition of service men (factory guards) , 10. No foreclosures on homes of former Ford workers - Ford to assume responsibility for all mortgages, land contracts, and back taxes until six months after regular full-time re-employment , 11. Immediate payment of lump sum of fifty dollars winter relief , 12. Full wages for part-time workers , 13. Abolition of graft system in hiring workers , 14. The right to organize, Diverse participants in the march included communists, socialists, and anarchists, along with unionists, social justice minded Catholics, and Jews, members of other faiths and nonbelievers. Some wanted to show solidarity for the jobless, and some were along to show support for other causes., March 7, 1932 , Marchers crossed the First Street Bridge and turned north on Miller Road where they encountered Dearborn Police Inspector Charles W. Slamer accompanied by approximated 50 uniformed policemen. Slamer ordered the marchers to turn back as they laced a permit to march in Dearborn. Instead they crossed into Dearborn, intent on delivering their demands to Henry Ford. The police fell back and launched a volley of tear gas, but the brisk wind blew the noxious fumes back toward the police line. A second volley of gas was accompanied by a spray of icy water from fire hoses. Marchers responded by throwing rocks, ice and pieces of brick. Four marchers died that day, a fifth died weeks later from his injuries.