Labor Leader. Along with his brothers Walter and Victor, he helped found and shape the United Auto Workers union into one of most influential industrial unions in America. He was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, the fourth son of Valentine and Anna (Stocker) Reuther. He graduated Wheeling High School and joined his brothers, Walter and Victor, in Detroit in 1932, becoming interested in labor education while a student at the City College of Detroit (now Wayne State University). He attended the Wisconsin School for Workers and Brookwood Labor College. He also served as a faculty member at Brookwood until his return to Detroit in 1936. He obtained a job at the Chevrolet Gear and Axle plant, and joined the UAW, becoming an assistant organizing director of the UAW in Flint. He was a leader of the 1936‑1937 sit‑down strike against General Motors, facing tear gas and billy clubs, and exposing a GM spy in a dramatic confrontation at a Flint UAW Local 156 meeting. During World War II, he took a leave of absence from the UAW to serve as a labor information specialist with the War Production Board (WPB), briefly serving in the U.S. Army before being recalled to the WPB. He returned to the UAW, serving as administrative assistant to his brother, UAW President Walter Reuther, in 1949. He also served as director of the UAW Citizenship Department and Citizenship‑Legislative Department, developing a close association with President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Robert F. Kennedy. He continued to serve the UAW until his death.
Labor Leader. Along with his brothers Walter and Victor, he helped found and shape the United Auto Workers union into one of most influential industrial unions in America. He was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, the fourth son of Valentine and Anna (Stocker) Reuther. He graduated Wheeling High School and joined his brothers, Walter and Victor, in Detroit in 1932, becoming interested in labor education while a student at the City College of Detroit (now Wayne State University). He attended the Wisconsin School for Workers and Brookwood Labor College. He also served as a faculty member at Brookwood until his return to Detroit in 1936. He obtained a job at the Chevrolet Gear and Axle plant, and joined the UAW, becoming an assistant organizing director of the UAW in Flint. He was a leader of the 1936‑1937 sit‑down strike against General Motors, facing tear gas and billy clubs, and exposing a GM spy in a dramatic confrontation at a Flint UAW Local 156 meeting. During World War II, he took a leave of absence from the UAW to serve as a labor information specialist with the War Production Board (WPB), briefly serving in the U.S. Army before being recalled to the WPB. He returned to the UAW, serving as administrative assistant to his brother, UAW President Walter Reuther, in 1949. He also served as director of the UAW Citizenship Department and Citizenship‑Legislative Department, developing a close association with President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Robert F. Kennedy. He continued to serve the UAW until his death.
Bio by: Always with Love
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