During one large strike, 9,000 General Motors workers walked out for 54 days in 1998 over management's decision to hire outside contractors for equipment removal and fears of widespread job losses.

In 2023, the United Auto Workers launched the 'Stand Up Strike,' a six-week strike against all of the 'Big Three' automakers, to bargain for cost-of-living pay increases, end a tiered workforce structure, and more.

See a timeline of the US government's investments and restructuring efforts of General Motors following the Great Recession.

Listen to the story of how General Motors beat out the Ford Motor Company to become the largest car manufacturer by 1931.

Learn about the Strike at Homestead Mill: a 12-hour standoff between private security guards and more than 700 unionized steelworkers at Andrew Carnegie's Homestead Steel Works.

See a timeline of important moments in General Motors' history, including its early automatic innovations in creating electrical systems in cars and the birth of the American muscle car in 1964.

Read what professors at Harvard Business School think led to General Motors' 2009 bankruptcy.

After delisting and going private for nearly two years in the midst of the Great Recession, General Motors went public for the second time in 2010 in what was then the largest IPO in history.

Owning a large catalog of brands with distinct purposes and customer bases helped General Motors overtake Ford Motor Company as America's leading car manufacturer, something that still sets the company apart today.

In February 2014, General Motors recalled more than 2.6 million cars—part of a record 30 million vehicles it recalled that year—over faulty ignition switches that had caused multiple deaths, ultimately costing the company more than $4B in repair costs, victim compensation, and other expenses.

130,000 working musicians once went on strike

After being the country's largest automaker by sales volume for nearly 100 years, Toyota surpassed General Motors as the top automobile manufacturer in the US—representing a shift in the American economy that once heavily depended on domestic manufacturing.

Listen to a reflection on General Motors' role in American life.

Although he didn't create General Motors, Alfred Sloan is widely credited with GM's massive success and is often considered one of the best American businessmen of all time.

Learn about how General Motors dismantled America's streetcars

In 1919, General Motors created the General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) to offer car loans and payment plans, revolutionizing America's relationship with debt by offering one of the very first buy now, pay later programs.

Mary Barra became the first female CEO of General Motors in 2014, making her the first woman to hold the office in the largely male-dominated automobile industry overall.

Why did four Black servicewomen go on strike during WWII?

The economic impact of the Hollywood strikes

After investing more than $10B in less than 10 years, General Motors abandoned its controversial robotaxi development efforts in 2024.

Listen to a recap of Alfred Sloan's autobiography, titled 'My Years with General Motors.'

The first recorded worker strike in the United States predates the American Revolution.

Auto and consumer goods companies absorbed billions in costs due to President Trump's 2025 tariffs.

General Motors President Charles Wilson is often quoted as saying, 'What's good for General Motors is good for America,' in 1953—but a closer examination of the records reveals a different message.

Longtime General Motors CEO Alfred Sloan used the motto 'a car for every purse and purpose' to represent the value of having multiple car brands with different target audiences under one company.

Henry Ford pioneered the first moving assembly line, building on earlier iterations of the manufacturing method

Disney animators went on strike in 1941, protesting unpaid overtime

In 1932, Mexican artist Diego Rivera painted a series of murals in Detroit depicting the city's automotive workers and criticizing the Ford Motor Company, leading to weeks of controversy.

Union membership was 9.9% in 2024, the lowest in nearly 40 years.

Abandoned Detroit: the decline of America's car mecca

Charles Kettering, the person who invented the electric starter on cars, helped develop the diesel locomotive engine while working as head researcher at General Motors.

In 1965, consumer advocate Ralph Nader released 'Unsafe At Any Speed,' a scandalous exposé on the risks of cars, prompting backlash from leading automakers including General Motors, which gave way to some of the earliest automobile regulations.

GE’s removal marked the end of an era for the Dow

Despite founding General Motors, one of the most successful car companies in the world, William Durant lost his multimillion-dollar fortune before he died.

See the process of starting a union.

Timeline of women in labor history

Over 1.9 million Americans—more than a quarter of those unemployed—have been classified as 'long-term' unemployed in a given month in 2026, meaning they've been out of work for at least 27 weeks.

Tesla's production of a high-performance electric vehicle revived the EV industry

Do unions still work?

The steps to the railroad industry's bargaining process

The Kent State massacre sparked a nationwide student strike

With roots stretching back to the 18th century, unions have long been at the center of change in labor rights.

By designing a $35,000 car, Tesla sought to bring EVs into the mainstream

Should companies be owned by their workers?

Explore a list of some of the largest labor unions in the United States.

Use this interactive tool to see how long Americans have tended to remain at the same job for in various decades.

Read how Fordism helped invent the American middle class

Motown Records used an assembly-line approach to songwriting, inspired by founder Berry Gordy's time at Ford Motor Company.

Walt Disney's visit to a Ford factory helped inspire the layout for Disneyland

Nike's labor practices became controversial in the 1990s—leading to widespread protests of the brand

In 2023, self-driving cars drove 3.3 million miles on California's roads