Word: reuther
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...labor leaders also disagree vehemently over the role of the American labor movement in international affairs. Reuther believes that unions ought to help bridge the gap between nations, while Meany refuses even to talk to Communist labor groups. Last year the International Labor Organization (an agency of the U.N.) elected Leon Chain, a Pole, president. The American delegation headed by Randy Faupl, a close friend of Meany's, walked out of the meeting. Reuther sought to condemn the walk-out at the next executive council meeting but was overruled by a near unanimous vote. A source reports that at this...
...Reuther-Meany feud has come into the open again but this time it may be bloody. Early in February, Reuther resigned from the AFL-CIO's powerful executive council and an April meeting of his Auto Workers Union will probably give him the power to pull the union out of the labor federation altogether. A complete split between George Meany, President of the AFL and Walter Reuther, his vice president, and head of the organization's largest union will have grave effects on the entire labor movement...
...important labor leader believes the difference between the two men is ideological. "Meany," he says, "represents the old school of business unionism, where the labor movement has a social conscience." Reuther grew up on the picket line. He was instrumental in organizing the auto industry and took part in the bloody sit-down strikes of the late 30's. Meany, on the other hand, prides himself on the fact that he never called a strike and has never walked a picket line himself. A labor official put it very simply. "Meany just isn't comfortable with Reuther...
Furthermore, Reuther is a creative trade unionist. His bargaining demands are frequently full of innovations. He was one of the first to push for "escalator clauses," which insure that wages rise along with the cost of living. He has sought benefits for those whom he feels are "too old to work and too young to die." Some of these benefits include supplemental social security, medicare and elegant pension plans. He also was a forerunner in obtaining profit-sharing plans and is now atempting to win guaranteed annual wages for his auto workers. But he wants unions to go beyond bread...
...alone. None of the other industrial unions are planning now to follow. The head of one such union reported that his position could not even be formulated until the UAW decides what it is going to do after leaving. Another insider said "No one can fault what Reuther is saving but he has not said specifically what he personally can do. Everything is couched in vague generalities, there are no definite plans." One of the most telling analyses of the situation was the report that "I would seriously doubt Reuther himself knows where he is going...