Treaty of Detroit

Treaty of Detroit - opened the way for a more broadly based "labor management accord" -- not industrial peace, because the country still experienced many strikes, but general acceptance of collective bargaining as the method for setting the terms of employment.

The five-year contract negotiated by trade union president Walter Reuther between the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the Big Three automakers in 1950 became known as the "Treaty of Detroit". The UAW agreed to a long-term contract, which protected the automakers from annual strikes, and gave up the right to bargain over some issues in exchange for extensive health, unemployment, and pension benefits; expanded vacation time; and cost-of-living adjustments to wages. This contract shaped labor-management relations in the auto industry for decades, and the Treaty was used as a model for Labor-Corporation agreements in a variety of other industries.