09/01/2026
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Today, we celebrate the life and legacy of longtime UAW President Walter P. Reuther, who was born on this day in 1907. Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, Reuther was the son of a union activist, Abraham Reuther, and the older brother of Roy and Victor Reuther.
He was also one of the key leaders in the historic General Motors sit‑down strike of 1936-37.
During an organizing campaign on May 26, 1937, at the Ford Rouge plant, Reuther and other UAW leaders were beaten by company "servicemen" in an incident that came to be known as the "Battle of the Overpass." Photos taken of the event turned public sentiment in the union's favor.
After a bitter contest at the UAW convention in March 1946, Reuther was elected president of the union, narrowly defeating incumbent R.J. Thomas. Reuther would hold the office until his death.
Under Reuther's leadership, the UAW won historic gains for its members. “He had a terrific sense of timing,” said Louis Seaton, who was vice president and chief labor negotiator at GM for twenty-three years. “Reuther was a master of it – knowing how long he could hold back until he made a move the union was ready for. He understood what it took to gain a position and what it took to maintain it.”
During his twenty‑four-year administration, the UAW established its identity as a powerful, well-organized union, successful in protecting the rights and interests of its members yet responsive to its social responsibilities.
Reuther saw that improved living conditions for workers could not be achieved solely at the bargaining table and used his influence to further social reforms. “Labor cannot make progress at the expense of the rest of the community,” Reuther would say. “Labor can make progress only as the rest of the community makes progress.”
Walter’s life was tragically cut short on May 9, 1970, when he, his wife May, and four others were killed in the crash of a small plane while on their way to the UAW educational center at Black Lake, Michigan.
Said G. Mennen Williams, the governor of Michigan at the time of Reuther’s passing: “Walter Reuther affected the lifestyle of the United States like few in his generation. He made richer lives for millions and left this a better world.”
