Bailouts and Community

“Dodge Main”—the name of the huge Chrys-
ler plant in Hamtramck—was often the first Eng-
lish phrase learned by Poles arriving in Detroit.
Over half a century it produced 14 million cars and
helped integrate into mainstream society
successive waves of immigrants from Europe and
the American South. In 1978 the factory supported
5,000 workers, their families, and the small busi-
nesses that served them.