The Five-Minute Strike

A strike over a five-minute relief period all but shut down car production at Chrysler last week. Beginning with a walkout of 400 workers at the main Dodge plant, the stoppage soon idled 41,440 workers as parts shortages halted production in the major Chrysler plants. The relief period of five minutes an hour (in addition to regular relief periods) was first arranged because of special fatigue problems, such as extraordinary heat, though the company claimed that technological improvements later eliminated the problems. So that no actual output would be lost, the United Auto Workers agreed to speed up the line. But in its belt tightening this year, Chrysler went in heavily for time studies, decided that the five-minute relief period each hour--which exists nowhere else in the industry--was no longer necessary and would have to go, since it meant shutting the line down every hour. The union then eliminated the speedup, so that Chrysler gained no extra production. But two weeks ago the 400 Dodge body workers decided they wanted the relief period even without the speedup, walked out, later added a demand for more manpower on the same job. Said Chrysler Vice President John D. Leary: "This is simply a demand for feather-bedding."

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