Blogs

By the late 1950s, it was becoming increasingly clear that the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) would have to strike against Southern Airways (SOU). The main issue was wages. The union maintained that all of their aviators should receive the same salary regardless of the size of the airline, but SOU, a smaller, regional carrier, claimed they could only afford to pay a lower rate. ALPA knew this was a battle they had to take on, though it would not be easy. Frank Hulse, the founder and president of SOU, was staunchly anti-union, and had recently succeeded in breaking up the mechanic’s union at Southern Airways. ALPA was the last union standing at SOU.  read more »

“Music hath charms to sooth a savage heart, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.” –William Congreve 1670-1729

This quote, among others, was scribbled on notes belonging to the famous and first Labor Lawyer –Maurice Sugar, and can be found in the Reuther Library’s Maurice Sugar Papers.  read more »

Please join the Reuther Library for a presentation from our latest Fishman grant recipient this April 8, 2016, at noon.

Joel Suarez, a doctoral student from Princeton University, considers the values ascribed to work in the wake of its transformation in the latter half of the twentieth century. He explores how contending visions of the good life— among intellectuals and policymakers, but most importantly workers—were challenged and reconstituted amid changes wrought by industrialization, deindustrialization, and the ascent of low-wage service sector work.  read more »

This March 29th, please join the Walter P. Reuther Library for a panel discussion to celebrate the opening of a new exhibit on loan from Michigan State University. The exhibit spotlights the voices of Latin@ workers to explore their impact on the auto industry in Michigan, drawing from photographs, oral histories, and other archival records. Panelists will discuss the contributions of Latin@ auto workers from a variety of perspectives.  read more »