Quality of work life

Irving Bluestone Papers

drice — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:37:40 -0400

Irving Bluestone (January 5, 1917 – November 17, 2007) was born and raised in New
York City. He received his B.A. at City College of New York in 1937 and attended the
University of Bern, Switzerland for one year of postgraduate studies. In 1942 he joined
the UAW in New Jersey and showing promise, was moved to Detroit in 1947 by Walter
Reuther to join the General Motors department. He became Leonard Woodcock’s
administrative assistant in 1955 and Walter Reuther’s in 1961. In 1972 he was elected
Vice President of the UAW and also served as the Director of UAW General Motors
Department. Bluestone retired from the UAW in 1980, and became a professor and then
director of the Labor Studies program at Wayne State University, a position he held until
1999. During his retirement he served on numerous labor and economic councils, was
heavily involved in Joint Action and Quality of Work Life programs, promoted Michigan
industry and economy, and served as a labor representative on several companies’ board
of directors. In 1999 he retired fully and moved to Brookline, Massachusetts.

This collection highlights Bluestone’s retirement years from 1980-1999. It covers his
activities on labor councils, economic alliances, worker’s programs, technology and
manufacturing research, and Quality of Work Life and Joint Action programs. His
educational work and research are included, as well as his correspondence, publications and speeches.

Dan Forchione Papers

drice — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 11:31:49 -0400

Dan Forchione was an active member of the UAW from the 1940s until his retirement in 1988. He helped organize UAW Local 542 at the Ford Motor Company forge plant in Canton, Ohio, in the 1940s and served as the Local’s president and bargaining committee chairperson. In 1954 he was appointed an International representative and assigned to the UAW Ford Department staff. He transferred to the UAW Region 2 staff in 1957 and serviced local unions around Ohio. Forchione was elected director of UAW Region 2 and served from 1968 to 1970. He returned to the National Ford Department in the 1970s and served as administrative assistant under UAW vice-presidents Ken Bannon, Donald Ephlin, and Stephen Yokich from 1974 until the 1980s. In this role he was deeply involved in collective bargaining, contract negotiations and union membership, leading the UAW bargaining team in the 1980s in negotiations over job security, profit sharing and worker participation in management.

These papers reflect Forchione’s work primarily in the UAW National Ford Department, but also his work with local unions in Ohio and UAW Region 2. There are records, notes and correspondence from contract negotiations beginning in the 1950s, with the bulk in the 1970s-1980s. There are many documents on the history of specific local unions, the UAW and Ford Motor Company, as well as records of union arbitration cases.

UAW Vice-President's Office: Donald Ephlin Records

drice — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 12:30:20 -0500

Donald F. Ephlin became active in the UAW at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Framingham, MA in the late 1940s, before joining the International Union staff in 1960. As administrative assistant to UAW President Leonard Woodcock from 1970 to 1977, and later Vice-President in charge of the Ford and subsequently the General Motors Departments, Ephlin played a key role in negotiations with both companies. He helped launch the Saturn Corporation and create a labor agreement which changed the face of labor relations in the automobile industry. Ephlin became widely recognized as an expert in labor-management problem solving and was instrumental in the development of employee involvement and in improving job security and the quality of work life for autoworkers.

The material in this collection reflects the range of issues that Donald Ephlin was involved in with the UAW, Ford Motor Company, General Motors and many industry, community and academic institutions. It represents primarily his work as a UAW International Vice President, but also includes documents from his membership on various boards and some personal materials relating to his years with the UAW.

[Podcast] Race and Rebellion: Reexamining the Unlearned Lessons of the Kerner Report a Half Century Later

teller — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 20:18:12 -0400

Reuther Library outreach archivist Meghan Courtney discusses the conclusions of the 1968 Kerner Commission report in the context of today’s protests over race relations and police brutality. read more »