Today we celebrate the 114th anniversary of the birth of UAW President Walter Reuther with a look back at his remarkable life and his lasting impact on the American labor movement:
The first sit-down strike in the U.S. auto industry by workers wanting to join the UAW happened on Nov. 17, 1936, in South Bend, Indiana, at Bendix Products Corporation. By the mid-1930s sit-down strikes had become a popular way to leverage grassroots worker activism to gain rights in the workplace, but none had the impact the first UAW strike at Bendix would as it became the main precursor to the famous Flint sit-down strike that would begin just over a month after the Bendix strike. Part of the Bendix workforce belonged to the Bendix-Stromberg Workers Federal Labor Union #18347 which ...
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March is Women’s History Month. From the sit-down strikes of 1936-37 through the war years of Rosie the Riveter, from the postwar fight for jobs to today’s campaigns for pay equity and safe workplaces, women have played a key role in UAW history. Side by side, women and men are building a stronger union every day. We salute UAW women everywhere. Here’s the story of one noteworthy UAW woman: Millie Jeffrey Jeffrey in 1960 from the Reuther Photo Archives at Wayne State Millie Jeffrey was a long time union and political activist who became the first director of the UAW ...
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Today, UAW members celebrate White Shirt Day, honoring the workers who participated in the Flint Sit-Down Strike of 1936 and 1937. In the face of anti-union sentiment, brutal working conditions, and low wages, men and women working for General Motors came together to orchestrate a historic sit-in, where they occupied the Flint factory and demanded a seat at the bargaining table with GM. On February 11th, 1937, the tumultuous two month sit-in came to a close. For the first time, General Motors agreed to recognize the United Autoworkers Union as the official bargaining representative of all GM employees, securing pay ...
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March is Women’s History Month. From the sit-down strikes of 1936-37 through the war years of Rosie the Riveter, from the postwar fight for jobs to today’s campaigns for pay equity and safe workplaces, women have played a key role in UAW history. Side by side, women and men are building a stronger union every day. We salute UAW women everywhere. Here’s the story of a few noteworthy UAW women: Flint Women’s Auxiliary From Reuther Photo Archives at Wayne State University The Flint Women’s Auxiliary collected money for families, visited strike widows to improve their morale, and provided child care ...
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March is Women’s History Month. From the sit-down strikes of 1936-37 through the war years of Rosie the Riveter, from the postwar fight for jobs to today’s campaigns for pay equity and safe workplaces, women have played a key role in UAW history. Side by side, women and men are building a stronger union every day. We salute UAW women everywhere. Here’s the story of one noteworthy UAW woman: Millie Jeffrey Jeffrey in 1960 from the Reuther Photo Archives at Wayne State Millie Jeffrey was a long time union and political activist who became the first director of the UAW ...
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March is Women’s History Month. From the sit-down strikes of 1936-37 through the war years of Rosie the Riveter, from the postwar fight for jobs to today’s campaigns for pay equity and safe workplaces, women have played a key role in UAW history. Side by side, women and men are building a stronger union every day. We salute UAW women everywhere. Here’s the story of one noteworthy UAW woman: Caroline Davis Circa 1950s from the Reuther Photo Archives at Wayne State Caroline Davis was president of Local 764 in Indiana, and the second director of the Women’s Department from the ...
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March is Women’s History Month. From the sit-down strikes of 1936-37 through the war years of Rosie the Riveter, from the postwar fight for jobs to today’s campaigns for pay equity and safe workplaces, women have played a key role in UAW history. Side by side, women and men are building a stronger union every day. We salute UAW women everywhere. Here’s the story of one noteworthy UAW woman: Dottie Jones Dottie Jones began her career in the labor movement in 1966 when she became a member of Local 630 and served as chief steward. She developed training programs for ...
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March is Women’s History Month. From the sit-down strikes of 1936-37 through the war years of Rosie the Riveter, from the postwar fight for jobs to today’s campaigns for pay equity and safe workplaces, women have played a key role in UAW history. Side by side, women and men are building a stronger union every day. We salute UAW women everywhere. Here’s the story of one noteworthy UAW woman: Caroline Davis Circa 1950s from the Reuther Photo Archives at Wayne State Caroline Davis was president of Local 764 in Indiana, and the second director of the Women’s Department from the ...
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March is Women’s History Month. From the sit-down strikes of 1936-37 through the war years of Rosie the Riveter, from the postwar fight for jobs to today’s campaigns for pay equity and safe workplaces, women have played a key role in UAW history. Side by side, women and men are building a stronger union every day. We salute UAW women everywhere. Here’s the story of one noteworthy UAW woman: Millie Jeffrey Jeffrey in 1960 from the Reuther Photo Archives at Wayne State Millie Jeffrey was a long time union and political activist who became the first director of the UAW ...
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