biography
| name: |
Reuther, Walter (Philip)
|
pronunciation:
[royter]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1907–70)
|
| biography:
| Labour leader, born in Wheeling, West Virginia, USA. He worked at a Ford automobile plant (1927–32) and then went to the Soviet Union to work at the Gorki Auto plant (1933–5). On return to the USA he became one of the founders of the United Auto Workers (UAW) and took an active role in forcing General Motors to recognize the UAW. During World War 2 he solidified his reputation as a responsible labour leader and was elected UAW vice-president (1942–6) and then president (1946–70). After World War 2 he became an outspoken opponent of Communists in the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), to which the UAW belonged, and in 1952 he was elected president of the CIO. He worked for the merger with the AFL in 1955, but by 1968 he led the UAW out of the AFL-CIO because of differences with George Meany. |
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