I live in what was once a vibrant community. Good jobs were in excess, opportunities for various types of leisure time filled the calendar, great health care was provided and top-notch education existed. Flint, Michigan (Genesee County) had it going on. Like most rust belt cities though, Flint took a hit.

General Motors was founded here. In 1908 Billy Durant, who owned the Durant – Dort Carriage Company and Buick Motor Car Company, partnered with Charles Stuart Mott and founded what would become the world’s largest automobile company.

The FVFMBA or the Flint Vehicle Factories Mutual Benefit Association in 1908, was funded by withholdings from workers and supplied benefits to workers who were sick, or injured and to their families in the case of death.

Charles Stuart Mott started the IFL or Industrial Fellowship League. This league offered recreational and educational opportunities to workers.

In 1922 the two organizations merged and became the IMA, or Industrial Mutual Association. Funded wholly by the blue-collar workers of the city the association built a six-story auditorium that sat 7000 people, opened a golf course and provided for many other activities in the city. 

In November 1936, the workers of Flint’s Fisher Body Complex, along with the workers from Chevrolet Motor Division, went on strike. During this 44-day strike, the workers took control of various plants, stopped production and sat down on the job. Days of negotiating and violence brought on by the company ultimately lead to the Company recognizing the UAW (United Auto Workers union) and the right of workers to representation. These actions blessed the workers with better pay and benefits.

Three things set Flint apart. The first was the IMA, its buildings and the opportunities provided from it that were built on the backs of the workers.

The second was the sustainable wages the workers eventually received. Finally, families could pay their bills and even have some money left over for leisure.

The third was the benefits. Due to the great health care the UAW negotiated for their members, health care professionals and providers flocked to the city, bringing the newest and greatest technologies.

Flint in its heyday had just under 200,000 residents (1960). Today it numbers just over 80,000.

What happened? General Motors began to pull out of the city, moving its manufacturing overseas and to the south, seeking greater and greater profits. No longer was a great job easy to find.

The great community of Flint now has areas full of blight. Stores, businesses, venues have closed. Schools in the area struggle for funding. Health care while still good has slipped.

General Motors has made billions (yes billions) of dollars in the past few years, while its founding community rots and struggles to survive. 

Yes, the money to fund Flint came from General Motors, but the success of Flint was due to the workers on the line and the contracts negotiated by the UAW.

Roy Richard
June 2023