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Title: |
General Motors Corporation, Fisher Body Division, Plant No. 1 Records |
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Repository: |
Western Reserve Historical Society
Phone: 216-721-5722 http://www.wrhs.org |
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Creator: |
General Motors Corporation, Fisher Body Division, Plant No. 1 |
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Dates: |
1920-1983 |
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Quantity: |
1.10 linear feet (2 containers) |
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Abstract: |
The Fisher Body Division, Plant No. 1, was a Cleveland, Ohio, automobile plant opened in 1921 as part of the Fisher Body Company, producing automobile bodies. In 1926 it became part of General Motors Corporation. During World War II the plant produced tank and gun parts and engine parts for airplanes, wartime employment totaling 14,000, including a large number of women. After the war the plant produced large stamping dies and upholstery and trim sets rather than auto bodies. GM closed the plant in 1983. The plant was involved in several bitter strikes during the 1930s, including the 1936-1937 sit-down strike to gain union recognition by GM, which began at the plant. The plant was also known as the Coit Road Plant. The collection consists of correspondence and notices, building permits and floor plans, in-house newspapers, union correspondence and notices, and union publications. There is also a large collection of newspaper clippings relating to General Motors products, labor activities, and the closing of the plant. |
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Identification: |
MS 4310 |
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Location: |
closed stacks |
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Language: |
The records are in English |
The Fisher Body Division of General Motors Corporation, Coit Road Plant (f. 1921), was located in Cleveland, Ohio, at East 140th Street and Coit Road. Opened in June 1921, it was the older of two plants operated by Fisher in the Cleveland area, the other being located in Euclid. Managed by Edward F. Fisher, one of six Fisher brothers, the factory produced automobile bodies. By 1924 the plant employed 7,000 workers and produced 600 bodies daily. In 1926 Fisher became a division of General Motors, and soon stopped producing bodies for other companies.
Fisher employees were active participants in the labor movement of the 1930s. Organizing efforts were begun in 1933, and the first strike at the plant occurred in 1934. The biggest strike took place a few days after Christmas, 1936, when workers sat down in the plant and brought operations to a standstill. The strike spread to other General Motors plants, including the one in Flint, Michigan. In February, 1937, General Motors recognized the United Auto Workers as the bargaining agent for its employees. Another strike, noteworthy for its violence and bloodshed, took place in 1939.
During World War II, the Coit Road plant produced tank and gun parts and engine nacelles for B-29 airplanes. Wartime employment at the plant stood at 14,000, including a large female work force. After the war the factory produced large stamping dies and upholstery and trim sets rather than bodies. Postwar employment peaked at 5,600 in 1949 and steadily declined to 3,200 in 1971. By 1982, when General Motors announced plans to close the plant, only 1,530 employees remained at Fisher. Production ended in August 1983, and the facility was sold.
The Fisher Body Division of General Motors Corporation-Coit Road Plant Records, 1920-1983 and undated, consist of correspondence and notices, 1920-1983; building permits and floor plans for the facilities; Fisher in-house newspapers, 1936-1970; union correspondence and notices, 1934-1982, and union publications, 1945-1967. There is also a large collection of newspaper clippings, both loose and in an oversize scrapbook, relating to General Motors products and labor activities, 1934-1954, and the closing of the plant in 1982-1983.
The collection is useful to those interested in labor history in Cleveland, Ohio, the automobile business there, and the decline of American industry in the 1980s.
None.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4310 General Motors Corporation, Fisher Body Division, Plant No. 1 Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Fisher Body Division of General Motors Corporation-Coit Road Plant, 1983.
Processed by Art DeMatteo in 1988.