UAW Archivist

US garment workers helped pioneer multi-ethnic labor unions, which united people across racial, religious, gender, linguistic, and cultural divides. Also native-born citizens and immigrants. I think about that sometimes when I see people suggest such divides are unbridgeable.

May Day ‘72 Card sent from an Australian trade union to the @uaw.org International Affairs Department, 1972. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.🇦🇺

Future @uaw.org President Walter Reuther hanging with his "pals." 🐶🐕 1927. From a photo scrapbook in the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

“Twisting on racks when sinews give way, strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break.” Photos of @uaw.org members on the job, accompanied by classic lines of poetry. From “Here We Go,” a booklet about the union. 1957, from the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

L. M. Dickinson, engine lathe operator, helps his daughter, Charlene, refuel on the picket line with some Mickey Mouse cookies. Scene from North American Aviation strike by @uaw.org Local 887 members. 1950s, Inglewood, CA. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.🍪

"To hell and Mac, we're coming back!" Members of @uaw.org Local 1301, tractor workers from the Chicago area, picketing. Circa 1950s. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

🎃Nightmare Tweety bird? 🧛‍♀️Frightened daughters? 🙀Dog surgeon? 🧙‍♀️Dog surgeon patient? 👻Bobbing for apples gone wrong?🦇 Which attendee at the @uaw.org Local 662 Halloween party are you? 1977, Anderson, IN. Delco Sparks, publication for Local 662, from the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

TODAY at 6:00 PM Eastern in #Michigan: A free screening of Forgotten: Murder at the Ford Rouge Plant at @WayneState University in #Detroit. Find out more at tinyurl.com/zuy8mf2y #Musical #Opera #LaborHistory

"Now let's elect a people's Congress." Poster from the pages of @uaw.org Ammunition magazine, 1948. From the archives of UAW publications at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social. #VOTE #GOTV

"Victory through Unionism." Pamphlet from the James Lindahl Papers at the Walter P. Reuther Library. In the 1930s and 1940s, Lindahl served as Recording Secretary for UAW Local 190 and edited its newspaper.

1954 Wayne County, Michigan instruction ballot. Before you could easily look up a ballot online, groups like the @uaw.org Community Action Program distributed these documents to inform voters what to expect to see in the voting booth. From the UAW CAP Records at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

“Register and Vote” necktie spotted at the @uaw.org Education Conference, 1952. Seen in the UAW publication Ammunition, from the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social. 👔 🗳️

"Voting - Auto Workers Make Democracy Work..." Photo collages of delegates at the 1947 @uaw.org convention, voting in the union's elections. Seen in the pages of the United Automobile Worker newspaper. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Update: We decided to adopt this kitten, and as of this week, she is now big enough to jump on the kitchen counters. She's cute but it's a chaotic scene.

Congratulations to the workers at Engaging Minds in Peru, Indiana, who marched on the boss on September 4th and voted this week to join our UAW Region 2B family! Together, these workers are using their collective voice to stand up for the respect, dignity, and fair treatment they deserve.

WDET aired its first broadcast on Feb. 13, 1949. What started as a way for the United Auto Workers union to get their message out evolved into a radio station like no other. In this video, New Director Jerome Vaughn recounts the early days of WDET 🎥

“Economic and Social Justice” Cartoon from the @uaw.org’s magazine Ammunition, 1967. Reprinted from an @aflcio.org publication. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Materials from the @uaw.org Education Department providing members the tools to speak to their communities on behalf of their union’s positions during a strike against Ford in 1967. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

The Onion Union has four months until our contract expires. Here are some tips to unionize your workplace.

There’s a reason I keep this button on my cubicle wall

From concept art to final product, versions of the cover to the @uaw.org Women’s Department report. 1968. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social .

Who’s already ready for spooky season?? Here are some things from the archives that give me nightmares 👻 #SpookySeason #Halloween #archives #LaborHistory

“A Dollar for Political Action; Register, Vote to Beat This Guy” Cartoon from the @uaw.org publication, Ammunition, 1950. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

After you attend Detroit’s Labor Day march, don’t miss Art + Labor Unite! A celebration of creativity and worker solidarity, featuring original works from the Union Hall artists in residence. RSVP: UNIONHALLARTS.ORG/LABORDAY

It’s gotta be the @uaw.org’s Roving Eye.

Members of @uaw.org Local 3, which represented Dodge autoworkers in Hamtramck, in a large meeting at Keyworth Stadium, current home of my fave ⚽️ team, @detcityfc.com! Circa 1940s or 50s, from the UAW’s archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

“Now Is the Time to Make Real the Promises of Democracy” Coverage of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which took place #OnThisDay in 1963, from the @uaw.org’s newspaper, Solidarity. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

The @uaw.org contingent at the March on Washington, from members who bussed across the country, to UAW President Walter Reuther, one of the event's ten featured speakers. In fact, the UAW sent the most attendees of any group and even printed many of the picket signs. 📸@reutherlibrary.bsky.social

63 years ago today, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom brought nearly 250,000 people to Washington, D.C. to protest racial discrimination and demand economic justice. The UAW supported the march with signage emphasizing the interconnection of racial and labor justice.

Not for nothing, but this was the scene at the Wayne Academic Union picnic today.

Catching an afternoon @tigers.bsky.social game by using some any purpose time my union (Wayne Academic Union) negotiated for in our last CBA. Ordered a 🌭 served by @unitehere.org Local 24 members, and am currently watching two teams represented by the MLBPA. Did Labor Day arrive early for me?

"Organized labor is celebrating the life and legacy of an artist who championed working women and carried a union card for almost 60 years." 📰 https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/dolly-parton-obituary-unions-9-to-5/

Dolly Parton knew what it was like to struggle as she fought for working families her whole career. From providing free books to kids to giving working women our "9 to 5" anthem, she was an icon and an inspiration. Rest in power to our union sister. We will always love you.

Messages on how politics and political spending affect our pocketbooks and beyond, from thr @uaw.org publication Ammunition. Sept 1950. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Did you know Working Detroit: The Making of a Union Town, basically THE textbook for Detroit labor history, is available for free as an E-book? The Wayne State University Press and WSU Libraries teamed up to make Steve Babson's book free to the public! 📖 cdm17409.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/coll...

The Cat's Kittens, newsletter for @uaw.org Local 974, which represented Caterpillar workers in Illinois. 1957, from the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

63 years after the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, America’s unions are marching again. Join the labor movement, civil rights leaders and allies on August 28th as we march to defend the vote, our civil rights and fight for economic justice.

Sweet and sour pork recipe from the Executive Chef at the @uaw.org’s Black Lake education center. 1976 issue of Solidarity magazine, from the UAW archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Very cool to see content from the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social, provided by my colleague, the @afscme-archivist.bsky.social, used on the main stage at the @afscme.bsky.social convention!

AFSCME celebrated its 90th anniversary with a stirring video chronicling our union’s legacy of fighting for working families.

What was your favorite activity at summer camp? Capture the flag? Canoing? S’mores? Time study workshop, like this one at the @uaw.org’s FDR-CIO Summer School Camp in Port Huron, MI? Circa 1950s, from the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social. 🏕️🛶🌳

👍 ABB workers, 1998. From the @uaw.org Public Relations Department Photographs and Sound and Video Recordings at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Check out my announcement below on the opening of an addition to the @uaw.org Education Department Records here at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social. The collection is a fascinating window into the union's ambitious agenda from 1930s-1970s. Free and open to the public! reuther.wayne.edu/node/15469

Check out my announcement below on the opening of an addition to the @uaw.org Education Department Records here at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social. The collection is a fascinating window into the union's ambitious agenda from 1930s-1970s. Free and open to the public! reuther.wayne.edu/node/15469

Equal justice Fair taxes Political accountability Health care for all Original artwork of a range of workers moving together for causes that benefit the greater good. Made for @uaw.org Solidarity magazine, circa 1980s or 90s. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Kids vie for the prize at a watermelon eating contest, likely during a summer picnic for @uaw.org members. Flint Park, 1937. From the Henry Kraus Papers at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social. 🍉

“Will Automation Take Your Place?” Front page for UAW Local 199 News. April 1956, from the @uaw.org archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social. 🤖