Blogs

The Reuther Library marks with sadness the death on February 4, 2022, of the honorable Avern Cohn. Cohn served as Senior United States District Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan for forty years, retiring in 2019. His professional and personal papers, Avern L. Cohn Papers, have been part of the Reuther’s collections for several years and represent his wide-ranging interests and activities, from legal opinions and writings, to Michigan, Detroit and Jewish history, and to family matters, philanthropy and leisure travel.  read more »

Watching footage of NASA’s space shuttles blasting off and orbiting the globe, did you realize you were looking at union-made vehicles? Just like a Corvette or F-150, those spaceships (along with their giant orange boosters) were built by union labor, represented by the UAW.

The newly opened addition to the UAW Aerospace Department Records shines a light on the industry side of aerospace.  read more »

How might the relationship and flow of information between parents and the Detroit Board of Education affect the quality and locality of a child’s education? How were the parents of children involved in the inter-district busing debate of the early 1970s informed on the judicial and legal changes factoring into their children’s education?  read more »

Why was the United Auto Workers union involved in the highly controversial legal issue of racially-integrating busing policies in the Pontiac school district? From an outsider’s perspective, there is no clear link. The issue of forced busing has nothing to do with a worker’s union. However, it is important to remember that these workers went home to their families each night.  read more »