Business: Building Up the Pressure

With contract negotiations between the United Auto Workers and the three big automobile manufacturers still stymied, the U.A.W. last week stepped up the pressure on the companies. A sudden rash of wildcat strikes virtually shut down plants in Michigan, Ohio and Delaware; by week's end almost 16,000 workers had gone out. Their reasons for striking were often thin—in one case a leaky water pipe. More important, the U.A.W. high command, which has been discouraging strikes—at least publicly—seemed to have a change of heart. It was not only doing little to get the membership...