Business: 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....

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