# Midnight in Vehicle City: General Motors, Flint, and the Strike That Created the Middle Class - Hardcover

by **Edward McClelland** (Author)

**Winner of the 2021 Midland Authors Book Award in History**

In a time of great inequality and a gutted middle class, the dramatic story of "the strike heard around the world" is a testament to what workers can gain when they stand up for their rights.

The tumultuous Flint sit-down strike of 1936-1937 was the birth of the United Auto Workers, which set the standard for wages in every industry. _Midnight in Vehicle City_ tells the gripping story of how workers defeated General Motors, the largest industrial corporation in the world. Their victory ushered in the golden age of the American middle class and created a new kind of America, one in which every worker had a right to a share of the company's wealth. The causes for which the strikers sat down--collective bargaining, secure retirement, better wages--enjoyed a half century of success. But now, the middle class is disappearing and economic inequality is at its highest since before the New Deal.

Journalist and historian Edward McClelland brings the action-packed events of the strike back to life--through the voices of those who lived it. In vivid play-by-plays, McClelland narrates the dramatic scenes including of the takeovers of GM plants; violent showdowns between picketers and the police; Michigan governor Frank Murphy's activation of the National Guard; the actions of the militaristic Women's Emergency Brigade who carried billy clubs and vowed to protect strikers from police; and tense negotiations between labor leader John L. Lewis, GM chairman Alfred P. Sloan, and labor secretary Frances Perkins.

The epic tale of the strike and its lasting legacy shows why the middle class is one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century and will guide our understanding of what we will lose if we don't revive it.

### Author Biography

**Edward McClelland** is a journalist, a historian, and an author born and raised in Lansing, Michigan. His work has been published in numerous places, including the _New York Times_, _Washington Post_, and the Chicago Reader, and on _Salon_ and _Slate_. He is the author of several books, including _Young Mr. Obama: Chicago and the Making of a Black President_, _Nothin' but Blue Skies: The Heyday_, _Hard Times and Hopes of America's Industrial Heartland_, and _How to Speak Midwestern_. Connect with him online at edwardmcclelland.com and @TedMcClelland on Twitter.

**Number of Pages:** 232

**Dimensions:** 1.1 x 8.4 x 5.4 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** February 02, 2021

## Details

- **Price:** 27.95 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 27.95 USD | In stock |

## Images

- Midnight in Vehicle City: General Motors, Flint, and the Strike That Created the Middle Class - Hardcover

---

> Source: [Smart supply deals](https://smartsupplydeals.com/products/midnight-in-vehicle-city-general-motors-flint-and-the-strike-that-created-the-middle-class-hardcover)
> Updated: 2026-07-23