Reuther, << ROO thuhr, >> Walter Philip (1907-1970), was president of the United Automobile Workers (UAW) from 1946 until his death in 1970. He began his work in the union when it was formed in 1935. Under him, it pioneered in negotiated welfare and pension programs, guaranteed employment, and wage increases tied to productivity. Reuther became an important labor spokesman.
Reuther was president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) from 1952 to 1955. He led CIO negotiations in the no-raiding and merger agreement with the American Federation of Labor. After the merger in 1955, he was head of the AFL-CIO Economic Policy Committee and a member of the executive committee and executive council. He left these posts in 1967. The UAW withdrew from the AFL-CIO in 1968 (it would later rejoin in 1981). In 1969, the UAW and the Teamsters formed the Alliance for Labor Action to organize nonunion workers.
Reuther was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, on Sept. 1, 1907. He died near Pellston, Michigan, in a private plane crash on May 9, 1970.
