Labor
Homer Martin
1901–1968 · second president of the United Auto Workers (1936–1939)
Former Baptist preacher who led the UAW from its Detroit headquarters through the great sit-down strikes of 1936–1937, then split the union.
- Born
- Died
aged 66- Detroit years
- 1936–1939
- Field
- Labor
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Homer Martin trained as a Baptist minister and preached in small churches in Illinois and Kansas City before going to work in a Kansas City auto plant, where his gift for oratory made him a union leader. Appointed a vice president of the AFL's fledgling auto union in 1935, he was elected president of the United Auto Workers in 1936, as the union broke away to join the new CIO. From the union's Detroit headquarters he presided over its explosive first year: the Flint sit-down strike that won recognition from General Motors, the sit-downs that swept Detroit's Chrysler plants in early 1937, and the May 1937 Battle of the Overpass at Ford's Rouge plant. Martin was a spellbinding speaker but an erratic administrator, and he fought bitterly with the union's communist-backed wing, accusing four vice presidents of conspiracy. The executive board ousted him in early 1939, and R. J. Thomas replaced him. Martin then led a rival UAW affiliated with the AFL, which never matched the CIO union.
Highlights
- UAW president during the 1936–1937 sit-down strike wave
- Former Baptist preacher known for his oratory
- Ousted in 1939 and replaced by R. J. Thomas
- Led the breakaway UAW-AFL after the split