Abstract A long-time employee of Bendix Corporation in South Bend, Indiana, Mr. Poland was an early member and officer of Federal Labor Union 18347, which later became UAW Local 9. He was also active in establishing an international union of auto workers. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, he served as an International representative for the UAW in the Indiana-Illinois area. Subjects covered are formation of the UAW, the Homer Martin factional struggle, and early years of Local 9. Correspondents include...

Abstract Between March and June 2005, Mike Smith interviewed Jerry Tucker in a series of interviews. Tucker was a longtime union activist, former executive board member of the United Auto Workers International Union, and a founder of the UAW New Directions movement. He also spoke and wrote on labor issues. Collection consists of audio recordings for the entire interview and a partial, unedited transcript of the interview, covering the first five of the seven tapes. Tucker discusses topics such as his...

Abstract A recipient of the Walter P. Reuther Distinguished Service Award, Joe Walton was a participant in the General Motors Flint Sit-Down Strike of 1936-1937 and held various posts in United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 581, including Sergeant-at-Arms and Financial Secretary. Mr. Walton’s papers document his involvement in the labor movement, particularly concerning the activities of Local 581.

Abstract John Cole worked for the Ford Motor Company for over fifty years. In 1942 he served as an International Representative from UAW Local 50, the Willow Run bomber plant. The papers of Mr. Cole consist of a typescript copy of the union agreement of November 1942 between the Ford Motor Company and the International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO).

Abstract Organizing leaflets, articles, invitations, newspaper clippings, and pamphlets collected by Mr. Conyers, who served as chief steward of UAW Chrysler Local 7 and as a UAW International representative for the Chicago area and for Region 1, Michigan.

Abstract Knights of Labor traveling card (1883) and scrapbooks of newspaper clippings (1938-40 and 1947-59) collected by Mr. Eldon, who was a member of Briggs Local 212 of Detroit and was on the staff of the Education Department of the UAW International (1937-40), and International representative to the Canadian Region of the UAW (1940-59). Subjects include UAW organizing and negotiations; NLRB and labor legislation; Briggs and Chrysler strikes (1939), Father Coughlin; Homer Martin and UAW factionalism;...

Abstract John Herling was a prolific journalist, working for several publications and serving as White House correspondent and syndicated columnist specializing in labor affairs throughout the 1950s and 1960s. He owned "John Herling's Labor Letter," which he edited and published from 1947 to 1990, as well as authoring several books, including Strikes Under the New Deal, The Great Price Conspiracy, and ...

Abstract John Oneka, a former member of the IWW, was a member of UAW Local 235 at the Chevrolet Gear and Axle Plant. At various times he served as its president, trustee, and Shop Committee chairman. The papers include some of the Shop Committee minutes for 1937-46 and materials on political matters, the IWW, Medicare, and other union concerns. Among the correspondents are John Dingell and Philip Hart.

Abstract Mr. Panzner began his labor career with the IWW in the far west, organizing mine and agricultural workers. For his work with the IWW, he was sentenced to Leavenworth Federal Prison. After his release, he returned to Detroit and was active in the early development of the UAW. Among his papers are materials on labor relations at Chrysler Corporation and Ford Motor Company and some pamphlets on social reform, including a description of the case which resulted in his imprisonment.

Abstract The papers and correspondence of Mr. Livingston cover his earlier years as vice-president of the UAW until he was named director of organization for the AFL-CIO in 1955. The UAW Aircraft and Agricultural Implement departments, CIO organization drives, wage contract data in the aircraft industry, and the IAM and its relations with the UAW-CIO are discussed. Correspondents include Ben Blackwood, A.B. Connole, Roy L. Reuther, Walter Reuther, and Stuart Symington.

Abstract Mr. Zaremba was an early leader of the Automotive Industrial Workers' Association and took an active part in the formation of Dodge Local 3 of the UAW. Minutes, correspondence, clippings, and other files document early union activities at the Chrysler Corporation, especially the Dodge Main Plant. Topics covered include the Chrysler 1937 Sit-Down and the 1939 Strike; the Wayne County Industrial Union Council; the Civil Rights Federation; and union education programs. Among the correspondents are...

Abstract Joseph Chrapkiewicz began his union career in 1947 as Chief Steward in the United Automobile Workers Local 78, Kelsey-Hayes, Detroit, after which he held various offices in the local. In the 1970s he also edited the local's newspaper, Union Picket.

Chrapkiewicz's papers pertain to his tenure (and his predecessor, Maurice Terpenning's) on the West Side Local 174 & Local 78 Bargaining Committee, as well as various other committees he served on.

Overview UAW and Non-Partisan League material; union badges and emblems; 1940 UAW constitution and by-laws; 1940 radio broadcasts of station WJBK; clippings of the early 1940s; and correspondence on the PAC and the WPA.

Abstract As speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, Mr. Kowalski was responsible for the introduction of many liberal reforms in the state. Formerly a lawyer and union organizer, he directed UAW educational programs before his election as a representative of the Nineteenth district, Wayne County, in 1948. Papers and correspondence of 1965 and 1966 are most comprehensive on caucus and committee meetings, minutes and proposals, court reorganization, Democratic Party affairs, civil rights, civil...

Abstract In the UAW, Mr. Mattson was local union president, regional director, and director of the union's Agricultural Implement Department. This collection covers mainly the 1947 UAW Agricultural Implement Conference, and the 1950 organizing drives. George Addes, Victor Reuther, Walter Reuther are the principal correspondents. An oral history interview with Mr. Mattson is available.

Abstract Correspondence, reports, and newspaper clippings collected by Mr. Piconke, who served as a staff member of the UAW Skilled Trades Department (1943-55), and as a commissioner with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Subjects include biographical information and labor-management relations (1963). An oral history interview with Mr. Piconke is available.

Abstract Joseph Snyder worked for the United Auto Workers as International Representative of St. Clair Shores District, MI, local auditor and negotiator, and Constitutional Delegate from Macomb County, MI. He was also involved in local, county, and Michigan politics, most notably serving three consecutive terms in the Michigan House of Representatives. His papers reflect his latter UAW career as well as his involvement in politics.

Abstract Ken Morris served as president of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 212 and as director of UAW Region 1B. Mr. Morris was active in community affairs and served in various committees such as the Oakland University Board of Trustees, the Oakland County Mental Health Board, and the National Commission on Unemployment and Compensation. Mr. Morris’ papers relate primarily to his activities as Director of UAW Region 1B, and to a lesser degree, his trusteeship at Oakland University, and reflect his...

Abstract This collection consists of the papers of Kenneth Forbes, a UAW leader in the Saginaw area. Forbes held different offices in the union including the President of Local 455 and was also active politically. His collection covers his active years in the union and his retirement and gives a glimpse into the life of the politics and challenges of an elected official in the UAW.

Abstract Correspondence, clippings, and leaflets collected by Mr. Shaffer, who has served as committeeman, editor, convention delegates, and president of UAW Local 163 (Detroit Diesel Division of General Motors Corporation), and as chairman of the Wayne County Retired Workers Council of the UAW. Subjects include General Motors & Ford contract comparisons, H.L. Hunt, McCarthyism, and the Rosenberg case. An oral history interview with Mr. Shaffer is available.

Abstract As an active member of United Auto Workers Local 45 Leo Fenster held various offices and served as editor of Local 45’s publication, The Eye-Opener. Mr. Fenster’s papers document his activities as a labor activist and his interest in social reform.

Abstract Lewis Michener was active as a labor organizer in California and held numerous posts as a union official in the aircraft industry, including president of the Los Angeles Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) Industrial Union Council, president of United Auto Workers (UAW) Locals 406 and 923, and UAW West Coast (Region 6) Director. Mr. Michener’s papers relate to his involvement with the UAW and the aircraft industry, and his advocacy for retirees. Important correspondents include Ken...

Abstract 'Bill' Williams was a prominent figure in CIO Local 76 (later UAW Local 560), Ford Motor Co. assembly plant in Richmond, CA., helping to organize workers and serve as an officer. His papers reflect events at the plant surrounding the jurisdictional rivalry between the AFL and the CIO and eventual designation as a UAW shop.

Abstract In 2003, labor historian Mike Smith conducted an oral history interview with labor, civil rights, and community leader Marc Stepp. Stepp worked at the Chrysler Highland Park plant and advanced through positions of leadership in the UAW local. He then rose to regional and international levels, culminating in his election in 1974 as UAW International Vice President, a position he filled until his retirement in 1988. Collection consists of video and audio recordings. Stepp talks about his family...

Abstract Stepp worked for nineteen years at the Chrysler Highland Park plant and advanced through positions of union leadership from shop committeeman, chief steward and vice president of Local 490 to the Chrysler-UAW National Negotiating Committee. In 1967 he was appointed international representative with Region 1B, was elevated to assistant regional director in 1973 and in 1974 was elected International Vice President, assuming Nelson Jack Edwards' spot on the union's International Executive...