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uawarchivist.bsky.social
UAW Archivist
@uawarchivist.bsky.social
3.5K followers 150 following 240 posts
The UAW Archivist at the Walter P. Reuther Library (@reutherlibrary), the UAW's official repository. Open to the public, learn more at http://reuther.wayne.edu. Proud Wayne Academic Union member.
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uawarchivist.bsky.social
If you want to win the city-wide bar trivia tourney, take it to the next level and get an archivist. My grad school bar trivia team of future archivists had a future Jeopardy! super champion and another who qualified for the show. As a profession, we are somehow nerdier than librarians.
rocketcheddar.bsky.social Hector Rodriguez @rocketcheddar.bsky.social · 4d
Anyone looking for a ringer for their bar trivia team, get a librarian.
November 6, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Reposted by UAW Archivist
minakimes.bsky.social
Bad AI supplanting human expertise is an issue that transcends any one field, but man—not many people on earth whose knowledge and dedication deserves respect like LIBRARIANS.
jasonkoebler.bsky.social Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 4d
The long-running ideological war on libraries, education, and government workers is not separate from AI boosterism. It is the same ideological war on human knowledge and expertise. In some cases AI is being used to directly supercharge this effort:

www.404media.co/ai-is-superc...
AI Is Supercharging the War on Libraries, Education, and Human Knowledge
"Fascism and AI, whether or not they have the same goals, they sure are working to accelerate one another."
www.404media.co
November 6, 2025 at 5:19 PM
uawarchivist.bsky.social
Bilingual newspaper from @uaw.org Local 51 as the union organized the many Polish immigrant autoworkers who had settled in the Detroit area. 1941. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
UAW newspaper with articles in both English and Polish. Front page of The Beacon UAW local 51 newspaper. January 1941.
November 5, 2025 at 2:28 PM
uawarchivist.bsky.social
Another reason to support @detcityfc.com? DCFC payers are unionized with USL Local 7211!
Banner at DCFC game that says "Support your ballers" and "Local #7211."
November 5, 2025 at 2:15 PM
uawarchivist.bsky.social
Don't judge a book by its cover...Who would guess these cutesy scrapbooks contain dramatic history of the early @uaw.org? From the John Eldon Papers at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social, they're scrapbooks of news clippings about 1930s autoworker organizing. 📰🐶
archives.wayne.edu/repositories...
Three scrapbook covers. One with an image of deer, another with a black and white dog, and the other with terriers. Newspaper clipping of people demonstrating outside a Dodge Motor plant in Detroit. 1939.
November 4, 2025 at 5:02 PM
uawarchivist.bsky.social
Also, it's Halloween and the last day of American archives month!
banditelli.org Brett "Solidarity 2025" Banditelli @banditelli.org · 10d
BIG WEEK for @uawarchivist.bsky.social:

1) given improper credit by me
2) given proper credit by the union
uaw.org UAW @uaw.org · 10d
Enlisting the assistance of Gavin Strassel, @uawarchivist.bsky.social for the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social at Wayne State University proved to be the detective they needed.
October 31, 2025 at 6:51 PM
uawarchivist.bsky.social
"Don't Let 'Em Scare You!"👻😱🏚️
#Halloween haunted house-themed flyer from @uaw.org Local 1069, telling members about their legal rights to wear a union button with pride, no matter what their foreman threatens.
1953, from UAW Aerospace Dept Records at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social
.
mage of a haunted house and ghosts. Text reads: ""DON'T LET ‘EM SCARE YOU!” It has been called to our attention that certain foremen are again threatening or coercing or intimidating workers but demanding that they take off UAW-CIO buttons, and in the next breath, the same foremen will ask that workers nut on a PC button. And some foremen are again droning broad hints that certain workers won't be around long if they continue their support of UAM-CIO and Local 1069. Tell, we want to say this…UAW-CIO encourages all workers to wear the Badge of honor, a UAW-CIO button; and we prompt you to solicit on your own time and on company premises, all possible UAW-CIO support! As workers you are protected by the Laws of this land in this endeavor and UAW-CIO came to you to see that you enjoy these rights! And we want you to know that the moral and physical and financial resources of the whole UAW-CIO International Union are supporting you in this campaign!! A word to the wise is usually suffice"
October 31, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Reposted by UAW Archivist
uaw.org
Enlisting the assistance of Gavin Strassel, @uawarchivist.bsky.social for the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social at Wayne State University proved to be the detective they needed.
October 31, 2025 at 3:27 PM
uawarchivist.bsky.social
Such and honor and so much fun to be a part of this event!
uaw.org UAW @uaw.org · 10d
🧵 Solidarity House had some very special guests last week!

Former Ford workers, Jim and Cheryl Bassett, purchased a vintage Ford station wagon from UAW Local 174 around 10 years ago. It was a bit worn and dusty from being stored for decades, but it appeared to be something special.
Photo of Jim and Cheryl Bassett and UAW Archivist Gavin Strassel in front of Solidarity House with an old Ford station wagon that was used by UAW Local 174 in the late 1940s and 1950s to organize workers. News clipping from the United Automobile Worker, Westside 174 Conveyor Edition from February 1949 featuring a Ford station wagon purchased by the local to use as a sound car, with union leaders Ed Reno and George Lyons trying out to the new purchase. Old Ford station wagon that was used by UAW Local 174 to organize workers in the late 1940s and 1950s. Photo of the inside of a 1949 Ford station wagon purchased by UAW Local 174 as a sound car to organize workers in the late 1940s and 1950s. Includes a cardboard cutout of a smiling UAW President Walter Reuther behind the wheel.
October 31, 2025 at 4:20 PM
uawarchivist.bsky.social
Gulliver breaks his bonds
Cartoon from 1941 issue of United Automobile Worker, newspaper of the @uaw.org. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
Giant worker breaking free from bonds of miniature people, each labeled with anti-labor interests. Such as nazi, Harry Bennett, industry, and fascist. Reference to Gulliver’s Travels.
October 30, 2025 at 6:12 PM
uawarchivist.bsky.social
Halloween hoopla!
👻🧙‍♀️🦇October 1989 issue of The 1866 Voice, publication for @uaw.org Local 1866. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social. 🎃🏚️🌙
October 1989 issue of The 1866 Voice. Has picture of haunted house and ghosts.
October 30, 2025 at 2:44 PM
uawarchivist.bsky.social
Deeply misguided and ahistorical view on organized labor by Vance. As Chris Cooper says in the film Matewan, "Any union keeps this man out ain't a union, it's a goddam club!"
dieworkwear.bsky.social derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 12d
JD Vance claims that diversity weakens unions, as people end up distrusting each other and not organizing.

Let me tell you two menswear stories related to this claim. 🧵
October 30, 2025 at 2:34 PM
uawarchivist.bsky.social
Kid going all in on the 🍎 bobbing? Human-sized 🐕/surgeon? Girls terrified by something off-camera? Grim Reaper? Reaper's victim?
Tag which photo from this collage of @uaw.org Local 662's 1977 Halloween party you most identify with this Halloween! From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
Photo collage of @uaw.org Local 662's 1977 Halloween party, from 1977 issue of Delco Sparks.
October 28, 2025 at 6:40 PM
uawarchivist.bsky.social
🎃 @uaw.org members from the Lansing Car Assembly GM plant, rocking their Halloween costumes. 1990 issue of Line Times. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
Images of autoworkers wearing costumes, featured in a union newsletter, Line Times.
October 28, 2025 at 6:07 PM
uawarchivist.bsky.social
Sweet and sour pork recipe from the Executive Chef at the @uaw.org’s Black Lake education center. 1976 issue of Solidarity magazine, from the UAW archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
Article with recipe about chef Mike Gardner from the Walter and May Reuther Family Education Center. Contains sweet and sour pork recipe.
October 27, 2025 at 8:57 PM
uawarchivist.bsky.social
🚗🔊Very excited to present today at Solidarity House on the history of sound cars and sound trucks used in the early decades of the @uaw.org! Lots of great content and stories from the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.📣
UAW Local 174's sound truck advertising labor candidates in Detroit city election. Local 600 sound truck. 1950s.
October 24, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Reposted by UAW Archivist
afscme-archivist.bsky.social
👀 👀 When you're looking for something unrelated and stumble into slides from the 1968 Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial march in Memphis, during the @afscme.bsky.social Local 1733 sanitation workers strike. #NationalGuard #Memphis #LaborHistory #MLK #LaborUnions
In Memphis, Tennessee, several individuals standing on a street. In the center, two men face each other: PJ Ciampa and Bill Lucy, both AFSCME leaders. A stop sign towers above and between them. In the distance, two people and a large video camera are perched on a flat rooftop. Photo taken of a slide through a loupe. From the AFSCME Communications Department records, Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University. A group of people stand on the steps of the Clayborn Temple, Memphis, Tennessee. The building is construction of bricks of various sizes that rise into an arch above a decorative stained glass window and double door, one door is open. Two individuals hold signs that read: Honor King: End Racism. Photo taken of a slide through a loupe. From the AFSCME Communications Department records, Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University. People line up a on a city street in Memphis, holding signs supporting Memphis Sanitation Workers who were on strike. The crowd extend to the horizon. Photo taken of a slide through a loupe. From the AFSCME Communications Department records, Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University. Several National Guardsmen in uniforms and helmets stand on a crowded street in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968. Behind and on the left is a person in chef's hat and shirt partially in frame. In the background are two buildings several stories high, cars, groups of people, and a stop light. Photo taken of a slide through a loupe. From the AFSCME Communications Department records, Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University.
October 23, 2025 at 3:22 PM
uawarchivist.bsky.social
"Make Jobs, not war"
"Fund mass transit"
"Reagan: Robin Hood in reverse"
"Solidarity Day: Labor stands united"

Union slogans and pieces of flair on display with this @uaw.org member. Michigan, circa early 1980s. From the UAW's archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
Demonstrator at UAW event holds a picket sign that reads, "UAW Make jobs, not war." He is also wearing a "Buy American, UAW" trucker hat, a striped vest with many union-themed buttons and pins, and a UAW t-shirt. Behind him are other people also holding picket signs.
October 20, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Reposted by UAW Archivist
afscme-archivist.bsky.social
Your political action spinach contains vitamins A,F,S,C,M,&E, adding power to your punch! The Public Sector from #CSEA Local 1000 @afscme.bsky.social @reutherlibrary.bsky.social #PopeyeTheSailorMan #vote

Did you know Popeye is in the public domain as of this year? #copyright #PublicDomain #cartoons
Alt: newspaper front page for The Public Sector vol. 18 No. 12 December 1995, with illustration of Popeye cartoon character holding an open can of spinach. The spinach can reads: “Victory political action spinach.” Popeye’s word bubble reads: “Contains vitamins C, S, E, and A.” Popeye’s shirt reads: “Public Employees” and his hat: “CSEA.” a poster taped to a (not pictured) wall reads: “It’s Your job. It’s Your Future. Register to vote.” Below image of Popeye reads: “Adding power to your punch...”
October 17, 2025 at 1:21 PM
uawarchivist.bsky.social
Workers from other factories rallying in Solidarity for GM autoworkers during the Flint Sit-down Strike. 1936/37. The Great Sit-Down Strike pamphlet, from the @uaw.org archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
Workers with clubs cheering around a sound car. Caption reads, "Militant support pours in from Dodge, Kelsey-Wheel, Midland, Chrysler an from other cities." Cover for The Great Sit-Down Strike pamphlet, by William Weinstone.
October 16, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Reposted by UAW Archivist
jackiantonovich.bsky.social
As a historian, I can certify that we are in the bad times. But bad times eventually end.
In the meantime:
• Figure out a small way to help someone
• Figure out a small way to fight back
• Figure out a small place to find joy
• Figure out a small way to grow and thrive

And do it often.
October 15, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Reposted by UAW Archivist
uaw.org
@uawarchivist.bsky.social Gavin Strassel drops knowledge on the UAW's historic vinyl publications, which feature songs of solidarity and social justice.

📽 youtube.com/shorts/jU5Lc...
Solidarity in vinyl 🎼
YouTube video by UAW
youtube.com
October 11, 2025 at 11:09 PM
uawarchivist.bsky.social
🐅 Archivists have a slogan, "archives are not neutral," and in that spirit, go Tigers! Cartoon of @uaw.org President Owen Bieber with a @tigers.bsky.social proto-mascot. Letters-to-the-editor section of 1989 issue of Solidarity magazine, from the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
Letter to the editor from Solidarity Magazine. 1989. Letter reads,"AD IS A WINNER While watching the Detroit Tigers play on TV, a UAW commercial was aired featuring President Bieber and assembly line workers. After the commercial, the Tigers came back to win the game. I'm not suggesting that airing the UAW ad during all Tiger games will make them pennant contenders, but its positive approach can go a long way in reshaping the public's image of unions as well as restoring UAW members' sense of pride. Chuck Kennedy UAW Local 1703 member Muskegon, Michigan"
October 10, 2025 at 2:28 PM
uawarchivist.bsky.social
Here Are the Facts About UAW-CIO Radio Station WDET-FM
📻 Article from @uaw.org Local 174 newspaper about the radio station, @wdet.bsky.social, which the union would eventually gift to Wayne State University. 1949, from the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
Newspaper article about WDET with photo of UAW staff inspecting the radio station.
October 10, 2025 at 2:04 PM
uawarchivist.bsky.social
@uaw.org Local 174 flying squadron armband. Circa 1939s-40s, from the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social. Vital to the UAW’s early successes, flying squadrons were groups of union members ready to mobilize and support in solidarity fellow workers on strike at other workplaces.
Blue armband for UAW local 174 flying squadron.
October 9, 2025 at 12:54 PM