Bieber, << BEE buhr >> Owen Frederick (1929-2020), served as president of the United Automobile Workers (UAW) from 1983 to 1995. The UAW is one of the largest labor unions in the United States. Bieber succeeded Douglas Fraser ,who retired. Bieber was the first UAW president who did not take part in the early struggles of the union, which was founded in 1935.
In 1984, Bieber negotiated far-reaching agreements between the UAW and the major car manufacturers. He used numerous local strikes rather than a single nationwide walkout as a major bargaining tool. Bieber made job security the main issue instead of pay increases. He won the first contracts that ensured company-financed retraining or other help for automobile workers who lost their jobs because of certain mass layoffs or because of automation. From 1984 to 1991, he served as a director of the Chrysler Corporation .
Bieber was born on Dec. 28, 1929, in North Dorr, Michigan , near Grand Rapids . His father was an automobile worker. Owen Bieber joined the UAW in 1948, after he went to work for a company that made automobile parts. He was elected president of his local union in the Grand Rapids area in 1956. Bieber later joined the international UAW staff, and in 1974 became the UAW regional director for western Michigan. In 1980, he was elected vice president of the UAW and given responsibility for its relations with General Motors Corporation , the largest automobile producer in the world at that time. Bieber died on Feb. 17, 2020.
