While the automobiles so being manufactured today have never relied as much as they currently do upon machinery and sophisticated robotics, that was not the case when it came to the original inception of automobile manufacturing, which when this first began, necessitated a lot of repetitious work, that required a stable workforce willing to buy into that monotonous routine in exchange for decent wages and the stability of having a steady job. To a large extent, the wages so being paid were progressive for its era, but there came that time when the sheer amount of those being employed, and the power that management had in regards to who got hired, along with the pay thereof, and the consistency of that work and of the hours so worked, led to auto workers recognizing that there was indeed meaningful strength in numbers, that could be best expressed through the efforts of a union, that was united, therefore, as the voice of those workers.
The most salient reasons for auto manufacturers such as Ford Motor Company and General Motors, to see the usefulness of negotiating with the UAW, was to basically preclude "wildcat" strikes, sabotage, violence, and the like within the manufacturing of those automobiles; yet, for instance, Ford Motor was initially quite reluctant to actually sit down at the table to negotiate with the UAW, until they came to the realization of the value of eliminating disruptions to the production of automobiles, as well as the value of staying ahead of the curve in regards to their public image, along with the usefulness of being able to retain their competent employees, which would in summary, make for a more productive and therefore a more profitable corporation.
So then, to the credit of Ford Motor, of which they signed their first union contract with UAW in 1941, this thus formalized the seniority system so created, which meant that black workers, who often were the last so hired, and therefore the first so fired, would because of their work at Ford Motor during the war years, be therefore able to in many significant areas to secure seniority over those white workers, that previously of which would have expected that those jobs would be awaiting their white hands upon their return from having served their nation, overseas. Instead, the UAW, made the hiring and the firing process, as well as the seniority, thereof, far more transparent; and therefore that union truly did represent a fair union of those workers, so creating the solidarity of its workers, done so in a manner which was far more equable, progressive and fair, than was the case, previously.
The bottom line is that when it comes to labor fairness, that does not discriminate, union organizers, such as the UAW, were on the forefront of doing exactly that, which not only helped to create a vibrant middle class of people, previously so exploited, but also enabled those same people to have a firm foundation to build a decent life upon, as well as demonstrating that when those previously so denigrated by societal elements are provided with a fair and equable chance to make something of their lives, that they will readily accomplish that.