Minneapolis-Moline was a large tractor and machinery producer based in Minnesota. It was the product of a merger between three companies in 1929: Minneapolis Steel & Machinery(MSM), Minneapolis Threshing Machine and Moline Plow. It was headquartered in Hopkins, MN and had plants on Lake Street in Minneapolis, in Hopkins, and Moline, IL.
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Labor History
MSM, the largest of the merged companies, was a leader in the anti-labor union, open-shop, movement. It was a member of the Citizen's Alliance (CA), a powerful Minneapolis business league that kept the city largely union free for over 20 years. During WWI, the unions agreed to not strike to aid the war effort, in exchange the National War Labor Relations Board ordered wage hikes for workers. MSM refused, starting a court battle that would not be fully resolved until the 1940s. Minneapolis-Moline inherited MSM's CA membership and attitude. However, it signed a contract with the AFL Machinists Union in 1935, during the Flour City Ornamental Iron strike and after the 1934 Teamster's Strikes, both of which were notable for their violence. This was a notable defection that foreshadowed the collapse of the open-shop movement in Minneapolis. However, this did not mean peaceful labor relations in the years to come, after WWII the company would have to deal with strikes and pension disputes. It was acquired by the White Motor Company in 1963 and the brandname was dropped in 1974.
Tractors
Minneapolis-Moline pioneered the concept of the closed-cab farm tractor by developing the UDLX Comfortractor for North America in 1938. The UDLX was equipped with automotive features such as a heater, an electric starter, and a dashboard with a speedometer.[1]
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