Being an auto worker is a difficult job and that was especially true in the 1970s. Spurred on by the civil rights movement, strikes and protests fought for better pay and working conditions for employees of all kinds while the oil crisis rattled the industry. 

By the end of the decade, suburban plants, automated processes, and overseas components replaced the centralized urban factories of old. 

Here are 20 photos of what life as an automobile worker looked like in the 1970s.