History lesson
If it’s about the UAW, the Reuther Library knows it all
The world’s largest labor archives began in a dusty room in the basement of a university library — with one file cabinet, a desk, a chair and a staff of one.
In 1960 the Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs was established at Wayne State University in Detroit to collect, preserve and provide access to the historical record of the American labor movement.
At the time only a few archives collected the history of working men and women.
The archives became the official home for the union’s historical records in 1962. Named after the legendary UAW president, the Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs opened in 1975, built with UAW funds. A wing named after former UAW President Leonard Woodcock, also built with union funds, opened in 1991.
As the official archives for the UAW, the Reuther Library holds the historical records of the union’s presidents and officers, national departments and regions, as well as the records of locals and individual rank-and-file members.
In addition, there are complete sets of national UAW publications such as Solidarity magazine and its predecessor, The Autoworker. The collection also has thousands of local newspapers, pamphlets, brochures, posters, buttons and numerous files on local union history — and hundreds of thousands of photographs, films, books and oral histories.
Today the library holds historical records of 10 major labor unions, including 75,000 boxes of historical papers, nearly 2 million
photographs and 20,000 films, videos, sound recordings and books.
Thousands of students, scholars and union members from the United States and abroad have used the Reuther Library.
“The Reuther Library will be forever grateful to UAW members for their contributions and support,” said director Mike Smith. “We’re honored to be the official keepers of UAW history, and with your support we will continue to collect and preserve UAW history and develop programs to promote research, educational programs, exhibits and online resources that tell your story.”
Look it up
Here are some tips for UAW members working on local union histories or developing educational materials, exhibits or Web sites for their locals:
• For research assistance concerning documents, contact UAW archivist William LeFevre at (313) 577-2768. If your local wants to send historical records to the archives, contact LeFevre before doing so.
• For photograph and film research, contact audiovisual archivist Tom Featherstone at (313) 577-2658.
• For general information and to view online exhibits, visit www.reuther.wayne.edu, or click on the link from www.uaw.org.
