Martin, Warren Homer, 1902-1968

George C. Edwards, Jr. Papers, Parts 1-4

drice — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 10:39:40 -0400

George Edwards, Jr., son of George Clifton Edwards, attended Harvard University where he became involved with the Student League for Industrial Democracy. After coming to Detroit in 1936, he became a UAW organizer with Walter Reuther, was appointed director of the Detroit Housing Commission, and served on the Detroit Common Council. After serving in WWII, he went into private practice, followed by judgeships in the Wayne County court system. In 1956, Edwards was appointed to the Michigan State Supreme Court. In 1962 he was invited by Mayor Jerome Cavanagh to the post of Police Commissioner of Detroit where he focused his attention on organized crime and discrimination. After serving two years he was nominated to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals by President John F. Kennedy, and eventually served as a Chief Judge. He retired in 1991 and passed away in 1995.

Parts I-III of his papers reflects his early high school and college days, including correspondence with his father and material from his involvement in several student groups. Edward, Jr.'s various judicial campaigns, particularly his Michigan Supreme Court appointment, as well as his directorship of the Detroit Housing Commission are documented. Personal papers, including wartime correspondence with his wife, are included, as are newspaper clippings dealing with a variety of topics relevant to Detroit politics and events.

Part IV of Edwards, Jr.'s contains personal and career related correspondence from his service in the military through the 1980’s, with much focus on his nomination and confirmation to the Sixth Circuit Court. Included are many speeches and writings, his activities with professional organizations, a photocopy of his manuscript of the biography of his father, Pioneers at Law, and memorial tributes and letters of condolence to his family.

Henry Kraus Papers

drice — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:36:01 -0400

Mr. Kraus was the first editor of the UAW's newspaper The United Auto Worker (later changed to Solidarity). He was active in the early attempts by the UAW (first under the AFL and later under the CIO) to organize the auto industry. Files for the late 1920s and early 1930s cover the attempts by groups, including the Auto Workers Union of the Trade Union Unity League, to organize auto workers, and discuss such events as the Murray Body Strike (1929); the Ford Hunger March (1932); and the Briggs Strike (1933). There are many items pertaining to the AFL's work in the auto industry, such as material on the threatened auto strike of March 1934, the Toledo Auto-Lite and Chevrolet strikes of 1934 and 1935, and conferences and conventions of the UAW-AFL. The collection also has many files of the AFL's Detroit office for the early 1930s. Particularly well covered are the activities of the UAW-CIO from 1936 to 1940, including the South Bend Convention, the sit-downs, early attempts to organize Ford, and the Homer Martin controversy (resulting in the split of 1939). The Flint Sit-Down Strike and factionalism in the UAW are particularly well documented. Correspondents include nearly every major AFL, CIO, and UAW leader of the period. Among them are John Brophy, F. J. Dillon, Adolph Germer, William Green, John L. Lewis, Homer Martin, Rose Pesotta, Walter Reuther, and R. J. Thomas. Public figures include Charles Coughlin and Frank Murphy. Nine reels of microfilm complement content in Part I and are described in a separate guide.

Part 3 contains manuscripts, notes and research materials from Kraus’s three major books, as well as materials from his other books and writings including those on medieval art. Also included are transcripts of oral histories from a variety of individuals involved in the labor movement, especially those from the 1937 Flint Sit-Down Strike.

Stuart Strachan Papers

drice — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:37:01 -0400

Stuart Strachan held several positions in the United Auto Workers Locals 615 and 174, throughout his career. His papers reflect UAW activities at the time, both local and national.

UAW Local 57 Records

drice — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:46:15 -0400

United Auto Workers Local 57 began as an American Federation of Labor local and servicing the Fort Wayne Works of International Harvester Company in Fort Wayne, IN. The local received recognition as sole bargaining agent for employees in 1940 after a long struggle with management, the company union, and an independent union. Their records reflect these activities as well as the general operations of the local.

UAW Local 650 Records

drice — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:13:48 -0400

United Auto Workers Local 650 grew out of Local 182 in Lansing, MI representing Reo Motors employees. The local survived a company bankruptcy and reorganization in the late 1930s and early 1940s and numerous company-union conflicts in the post WWII period. The records of the local reflect its operations and activities upon behalf of its members.

UAW Local 9 Records

drice — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:47:42 -0400

United Auto Workers Local 9 was chartered as an American Federation of Labor local in 1933, servicing workers at the Bendix Products Corporation in South Bend, Indiana. After a disagreement with the AFL, the local joined the UAW in 1935, participating in the auto industry's first sit-down strike the following year. Local 9 records document its organization, factional struggles with the AFL as well as the company union, Bendix Employees Association, and general operations.

UAW Public Relations Department: Ford Motor Company Series Records

drice — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:11:53 -0500

Documents activities of the department including personal files on Harry Bennett, Henry Ford, John L. Lewis, and Homer Martin; working conditions at the Rouge Plant; and efforts to organize Ford workers.

(11451) Conventions, UAW-AFL, Detroit, Michigan, 1939

eclemens — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:35:29 -0400

Followers of Homer Martin’s UAW-AFL union hold their own convention in Detroit, Michigan as the general convention of the UAW-CIO takes place in Cleveland, Ohio.