Victor G. Reuther
Encyclopedia
Victor G. Reuther was a prominent international labor organizer. Along with brothers, Walter Reuther
, and Roy Reuther, he helped make the labor movement a powerful force in the lives of millions of working people around the world. His older brother Walter became the president of the United Auto Workers
union (UAW) and Victor became the head of that union's Education Dept. and an organizer on the international level. Throughout his life Victor strived for the betterment and the continuing education of the working classes and as a powerful advocate of social democracy
.
, West Virginia
, USA. His father was a union activist and supporter of Eugene Debs, a socialist candidate for the United States Presidency. Victor attended college as a freshman at West Virginia University
in Morgantown
and later, at the urging of his brother, Walter, he attended what is now Wayne State University
. Subsequently, he then joined Walter on an extended trip to Europe
and Asia
, during which time the brothers worked in a Russia
n automobile factory. The Reuthers were eventually blacklisted and expelled from the U.S.S.R.
after leading a strike
demanding safer working conditions. Returning to the United States in 1936, Victor took a job at the Kelsey-Hayes Wheel Company, in Flint
, Michigan
. It was there that he started to organize the workers into a union
that would eventually become the UAW. During this time Reuther lent his support and leadership to the 1936 General Motors Strike
where he faced down the billy clubs and tear gas of the violent pro-company police. He was famous during this strike for driving around Flint in a car with a loudspeaker mounted on the roof, encouraging the striking workers who were occupying the factories. Reuther was 24 years old at the time. General Motors (GM) workers in Flint took action, and the strike eventually spread to over 100 other production facilities. During this strike, 90% of GM production was stopped due to the shortage of parts and labor. The strike was eventually settled in February 1937, with many gains for the workers although Victor had to leave town with his wife, Sophie (the union's first female organizer) to evade a warrant that had been issued for his arrest by a GM "owned" judge
. He and Sophie ended up in Anderson, Indiana
to support another strike taking place there and another battle against thugs, corrupt police and public officials who were "in the pocket" of the corporations that were determined to wipe the union out.
on December 7, 1941, and for millions of American workers, industrial production was converted to supplying war material. Reuther was among the first to sense the waste and extravagant spending that the large corporations were engaging in now that they were getting lucrative military contracts. Reuther went to Washington, D.C.
and informed the Roosevelt
(New Deal
) Democrats
of the idle machinery and infrastructure that could be turned over to military production, and subsequently there were much stricter controls on how, when, and where government allocations to private corporations could be spent. After the war Reuther travelled to Germany
and was instrumental in the re-organization of the German labor unions. Through the remainder of his life he continued to be a strong supporter of the union movement in Germany and the rest of Europe. In 1947 his brother Walter was elected as the president of the UAW. Shortly after that Victor became the head of the union's Education Department. He was a vocal advocate of the recruitment of women, minorities, and young people into leadership positions for the union. Reuther saw the positive results that offering further education to the rank and file
workers would bring to the workplace and to future generations of workers.
An attempt on his life took place in his own Detroit
home, in 1949. While he was reading a newspaper, a shotgun wielding assassin fired at him through a closed window, hitting Reuther in the face and upper body. Waking in the hospital Reuther told his surgeon, "Take my eye, or my arm or leg, but spare my tongue. I've got a living to make." Reuther lost an eye and the partial use of one arm, but survived. The gunman was never caught. Even though the Detroit police had some very good eyewitness accounts and descriptions, they never followed up successfully on any of the leads.
attempt and continued to lead the union's Education Department for several more years. He was eventually named the UAW's International Director. He was active in the labor movement of many European countries, and became very well known in the Canadian labour
scene. His brother, Walter, was killed in a plane crash in 1970, and in 1973 Victor decided to retire and write his memoir "The Brothers Reuther and the Story of the UAW" which was published in 1976. He continued to speak at union conventions and rallies and earned much respect for his unyielding view that working people should always be making gains in terms of wages and working conditions. During the separation of the UAW and the Canadian Auto Workers
(CAW) in the mid-1980s, Victor Reuther was fully supportive of the Canadian workers' motivations. He felt that the UAW had been giving too much in the way of concessions to the US corporations, and it was his belief that the Canadian union would set a good example for their US counterpart. He remained active well into his declining years and died in Washington, DC at the age of 92.
Walter Reuther
Walter Philip Reuther was an American labor union leader, who made the United Automobile Workers a major force not only in the auto industry but also in the Democratic Party in the mid 20th century...
, and Roy Reuther, he helped make the labor movement a powerful force in the lives of millions of working people around the world. His older brother Walter became the president of the United Auto Workers
United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial...
union (UAW) and Victor became the head of that union's Education Dept. and an organizer on the international level. Throughout his life Victor strived for the betterment and the continuing education of the working classes and as a powerful advocate of social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
.
Early years
Victor Reuther was born in WheelingWheeling
-Places in the United States of America:*Wheeling, Illinois*Wheeling, Carroll County, Indiana*Wheeling, Delaware County, Indiana*Wheeling, Gibson County, Indiana*Wheeling, Missouri*Wheeling, West Virginia...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, USA. His father was a union activist and supporter of Eugene Debs, a socialist candidate for the United States Presidency. Victor attended college as a freshman at West Virginia University
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
in Morgantown
Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...
and later, at the urging of his brother, Walter, he attended what is now Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
. Subsequently, he then joined Walter on an extended trip to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, during which time the brothers worked in a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n automobile factory. The Reuthers were eventually blacklisted and expelled from the U.S.S.R.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
after leading a strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
demanding safer working conditions. Returning to the United States in 1936, Victor took a job at the Kelsey-Hayes Wheel Company, in Flint
Flint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. It was there that he started to organize the workers into a union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
that would eventually become the UAW. During this time Reuther lent his support and leadership to the 1936 General Motors Strike
Flint Sit-Down Strike
The 1936–1937 Flint Sit-Down Strike changed the United Automobile Workers from a collection of isolated locals on the fringes of the industry into a major labor union and led to the unionization of the domestic United States automobile industry....
where he faced down the billy clubs and tear gas of the violent pro-company police. He was famous during this strike for driving around Flint in a car with a loudspeaker mounted on the roof, encouraging the striking workers who were occupying the factories. Reuther was 24 years old at the time. General Motors (GM) workers in Flint took action, and the strike eventually spread to over 100 other production facilities. During this strike, 90% of GM production was stopped due to the shortage of parts and labor. The strike was eventually settled in February 1937, with many gains for the workers although Victor had to leave town with his wife, Sophie (the union's first female organizer) to evade a warrant that had been issued for his arrest by a GM "owned" judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
. He and Sophie ended up in Anderson, Indiana
Anderson, Indiana
Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison county. Anderson is the headquarters of the Church of God and home of Anderson University, which is...
to support another strike taking place there and another battle against thugs, corrupt police and public officials who were "in the pocket" of the corporations that were determined to wipe the union out.
The war years and beyond
The United States entered World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
on December 7, 1941, and for millions of American workers, industrial production was converted to supplying war material. Reuther was among the first to sense the waste and extravagant spending that the large corporations were engaging in now that they were getting lucrative military contracts. Reuther went to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and informed the Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
(New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
) Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
of the idle machinery and infrastructure that could be turned over to military production, and subsequently there were much stricter controls on how, when, and where government allocations to private corporations could be spent. After the war Reuther travelled to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and was instrumental in the re-organization of the German labor unions. Through the remainder of his life he continued to be a strong supporter of the union movement in Germany and the rest of Europe. In 1947 his brother Walter was elected as the president of the UAW. Shortly after that Victor became the head of the union's Education Department. He was a vocal advocate of the recruitment of women, minorities, and young people into leadership positions for the union. Reuther saw the positive results that offering further education to the rank and file
Rank and file
In politics and labor unions the rank and file are the individual members of an organization, exclusive of its leadership. The phrase originated in the military, denoting the horizontal "ranks" and vertical "files" of individual foot-soldiers, exclusive of the noncommissioned officers....
workers would bring to the workplace and to future generations of workers.
An attempt on his life took place in his own Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
home, in 1949. While he was reading a newspaper, a shotgun wielding assassin fired at him through a closed window, hitting Reuther in the face and upper body. Waking in the hospital Reuther told his surgeon, "Take my eye, or my arm or leg, but spare my tongue. I've got a living to make." Reuther lost an eye and the partial use of one arm, but survived. The gunman was never caught. Even though the Detroit police had some very good eyewitness accounts and descriptions, they never followed up successfully on any of the leads.
Later years
Reuther recovered from the assassinationAssassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
attempt and continued to lead the union's Education Department for several more years. He was eventually named the UAW's International Director. He was active in the labor movement of many European countries, and became very well known in the Canadian labour
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
scene. His brother, Walter, was killed in a plane crash in 1970, and in 1973 Victor decided to retire and write his memoir "The Brothers Reuther and the Story of the UAW" which was published in 1976. He continued to speak at union conventions and rallies and earned much respect for his unyielding view that working people should always be making gains in terms of wages and working conditions. During the separation of the UAW and the Canadian Auto Workers
Canadian Auto Workers
The Canadian Auto Workers is one of Canada's largest and highest profile social unions. While rooted in Ontario's large auto plants of Windsor, Brampton, Oakville, St...
(CAW) in the mid-1980s, Victor Reuther was fully supportive of the Canadian workers' motivations. He felt that the UAW had been giving too much in the way of concessions to the US corporations, and it was his belief that the Canadian union would set a good example for their US counterpart. He remained active well into his declining years and died in Washington, DC at the age of 92.