Minneapolis Moline

Minneapolis-Moline was a large tractor and machinery producer based in Hopkins, Minnesota. It was the product of a merger between three companies in 1929: Minneapolis Steel & Machinery (MSM) (Twin City tractors), Minneapolis Threshing Machine (MTM), and Moline Plow. It had manufacturing facilities on Lake Street at Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis, MN, in Hopkins, MN and in Moline, IL.

MSM, the largest of the merged companies, had been 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 World War I, the unions agreed to not strike to aid the war effort, in exchange the National War Labor 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 World War II, the company would have to deal with strikes and pension disputes.

It was acquired by the White Motor Company in 1963 and the brand name was dropped in 1974. AGCO purchased White in 1991. The Hopkins headquarters site has been redeveloped, and is now the location for a Honda automobile dealership.

...
Wikipedia