31 Facts About Roy Reuther

Roy Louis Reuther was an American labor organizer.

Roy Reuther was one of the leaders of the historic Flint sit-down strike that gave birth to the United Auto Workers.

Roy Reuther was born on August 29,1909, in Wheeling, West Virginia.

Roy Reuther was the third of four sons of Valentine and Anna Reuther.

Roy Reuther's father, Valentine, had been president of the Ohio Valley Trades and Labor Assembly, and was a dedicated socialist.

Roy Reuther imparted to his sons a reverence for the labor movement and socialism.

Roy Reuther became active as an organizer for the Socialist Party, becoming the Secretary for the Detroit branch.

In 1934 Roy Reuther obtained a job as an instructor for the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, starting in Detroit and later transferring to Flint, Michigan.

Roy Reuther eventually was hired at the Chevrolet Gear and Axle plant in Detroit, and became a member of the fledgling UAW.

Roy Reuther helped formulate and execute the daring plan to capture the Chevy 4 engine plant, which broke the stalemate in the strike and paved the way for victory.

Roy Reuther was often called on by the company to settle those strikes.

At the UAW's 1937 convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Roy Reuther was a candidate for an At Large seat on the UAW's executive board.

At the beginning of 1938, Roy Reuther ran for president of the Flint Local 156.

In 1939, Roy Reuther became an assistant regional director in Pontiac, Michigan where there were four GM plants.

When his brother Walter, who was the director of the UAW's GM department, called a strike of GM's skilled tool and die workers, Roy Reuther was deeply involved in organizing for the strike.

At a raucous convention in Atlantic City, Roy Reuther prevailed by a narrow margin.

At the Union's next convention in 1947, the Roy Reuther caucus swept most positions on the Union's executive board.

The reporters asked whether Roy Reuther was going to be next.

In 1949, Roy Reuther was appointed an administrative assistant to his brother Walter, and the director of the UAW Citizenship Department.

In 1960, Reuther worked to help get the Democratic presidential nomination for Senator John F Kennedy.

In 1962 and 1964, Roy Reuther was appointed by AFL-CIO president George Meany to direct voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts for the entire labor movement.

Roy Reuther continued to work closely with Attorney General Bobby Kennedy during this period.

In 1963, President Kennedy appointed Roy Reuther to serve on a National Commission on Registration and Voter Participation, chaired by Richard Scammon.

Roy Reuther complained that Johnson and Baker were twisting arms to get Democratic Senators to oppose reform of the filibuster rule.

Roy Reuther was actively involved in demonstrations and lobbying for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and was present when President Johnson signed those historic pieces of legislation into law.

Roy Reuther attended funerals for martyrs of the civil rights movement, including Medgar Evers, James Reeb and Viola Liuzzo.

Roy Reuther was the first national labor leader to go to Delano, California to support Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers Union.

Roy Reuther convinced the UAW to provide crucial financial support to the UFW.

Later, Roy Reuther went to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas to support striking melon pickers who had been brutalized by Texas Rangers.

Roy Reuther and Fania had two sons, David and Alan, born in 1946 and 1949 respectively.

Roy Reuther worked for passage of major civil rights legislation during the sixties, and provided vital support to the farm workers union.