1979 in Michigan


Events from the year 1979 in Michigan.
The Associated Press selected the top Michigan news stories of 1979 as follows:
  1. Chrysler Corporation's financial troubles, including a loss for 1979 estimated to exceed $1 billion, a federal loan guarantee program of $1.5 billion approved at the end of the year, and $462 million in concessions from workers;
  2. A 22% decline in U.S. automobile sales and the indefinite layoffs of 141,000 workers in the automobile industry;
  3. New collective bargaining agreements between the United Auto Workers and the Big Three reached without a strike for the first time since prior to 1964;
  4. Teacher strikes in Detroit and other communities that impacted hundreds of thousands of students in the fall;
  5. The selection of Detroit as the host city for the 1980 Republican National Convention;
  6. Toxic chemical dumping sites in need of cleanup;
  7. An $18 million budget deficit for Wayne County;
  8. Blockades by striking independent truck drivers during the summer;
  9. A court dispute over Indian fishing rights, including the use of gill nets, in Lake Michigan; and
  10. A record-setting $450,000 fine imposed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Consumers Power for safety violations at the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station on Lake Michigan.

    Office holders

State office holders

Sports

Baseball

Music

Albums and singles by Michigan artists or centered on Michigan topics that were released or became hits in 1979 include the following:

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Births

Deaths