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'''Walter Reuther''' (1907 - 1970) was an [[American labor unions|American labor union]] leader, who made the United Automobile Workers (the '''[[UAW]]''') a major force for liberalism and high wages not only in the auto industry but also in the [[Democratic Party]] in the mid 20th century. At first a [[fellow traveler]] who worked closely with the Communists in the mid 1930s, he became a leading liberal and supporter of the [[New Deal coalition]]. In the late 1940s became a leading anti-Communist; he supported an anti-Communist foreign policy including support for the Cold War, the Korean War and the Vietnam war. [[Image:Reuther45.jpg|thumb|285px|Walter Reuther ''Time'' Dec 3. 1945]]

'''Walter Reuther''' (1907 - 1970) was an [[American labor unions|American labor union]] leader, who made the United Automobile Workers (the '''[[UAW]]''') a major force for liberalism and high wages not only in the auto industry but also in the [[Democratic Party]] in the mid 20th century. At first a [[fellow traveller]] who worked closely with the Communists in the mid 1930s, he became a leading liberal and supporter of the [[New Deal coalition]]. In the late 1940s became a leading anti-Communist; he supported an anti-Communist foreign policy including support for the Cold War, the Korean War and the Vietnam war. [[Image:Reuther45.jpg|thumb|285px|Walter Reuther ''Time'' Dec 3. 1945]]

==Early career==

==Early career==

Reuther was born in [[Wheeling, West Virginia]], the son of a socialist brewery worker who had immigrated from Germany. In his entire career he was close to his brothers and co-workers Victor Reuther and Roy Reuther. Reuther joined the Ford Motor Company but was laid off as the [[Great Depression]] worsened. He and his brothers went to Europe and then worked 1933-35 in an auto plant at Gorky in the [[Soviet Union]]. While he collaborated very closely with the Communists, Reuther called himself a Socialist party member; historians believe he was probably an active  Communist party member in 1935-36; some evidence suggests he was a Communist party member as late as 1939.<ref> Victor G. Devinatz, "Reassessing the Historical UAW: Walter Reuther's Affiliation with the Communist Party and Something of its Meaning - a Document of Party Involvement, 1939." ''Labour'' 2002 (49): 223-245. Issn: 0700-3862 Fulltext: in  History Cooperative  Reuther later insisted he was never a member. </ref> He later claimed that he disapproved of the repressive Stalinist regime, but his reports from Russia and his lectures after returning home were enthusiastically supportive. At the end of the trip he wrote, "the atmosphere of freedom and security, shop meetings with their proletarian industrial democracy; all these things make an inspiring contrast to what we know as Ford wage slaves in Detroit. What we have experienced here has reeducated us along new and more practical lines."<ref>Lichtenstein, ''Most Dangerous Man'' p 44</ref> Unhappy with the lack of political freedom in the country, Reuther returned to the United States where he found employment at General Motors and became an active member of the United Automobile Workers (UAW).

Reuther was born in [[Wheeling, West Virginia]], the son of a socialist brewery worker who had immigrated from Germany. In his entire career he was close to his brothers and co-workers Victor Reuther and Roy Reuther. Reuther joined the Ford Motor Company but was laid off as the [[Great Depression]] worsened. He and his brothers went to Europe and then worked 1933-35 in an auto plant at Gorky in the [[Soviet Union]]. While he collaborated very closely with the Communists, Reuther called himself a Socialist party member; historians believe he was probably an active  Communist party member in 1935-36; some evidence suggests he was a Communist party member as late as 1939.<ref> Victor G. Devinatz, "Reassessing the Historical UAW: Walter Reuther's Affiliation with the Communist Party and Something of its Meaning - a Document of Party Involvement, 1939." ''Labour'' 2002 (49): 223-245. Issn: 0700-3862 Fulltext: in  History Cooperative  Reuther later insisted he was never a member. </ref> He later claimed that he disapproved of the repressive Stalinist regime, but his reports from Russia and his lectures after returning home were enthusiastically supportive. At the end of the trip he wrote, "the atmosphere of freedom and security, shop meetings with their proletarian industrial democracy; all these things make an inspiring contrast to what we know as Ford wage slaves in Detroit. What we have experienced here has reeducated us along new and more practical lines."<ref>Lichtenstein, ''Most Dangerous Man'' p 44</ref> Unhappy with the lack of political freedom in the country, Reuther returned to the United States where he found employment at General Motors and became an active member of the United Automobile Workers (UAW).