I’ve got a bit of a historical crush on Walter P. Reuther, and a recent social media post from his library at Wayne State University in Detroit just made the old UAW president somehow even more charming.
Reuther served as president of the United Auto Workers union from 1947 until his death in a mysterious plane crash in 1970. Before that, he and his brothers were instrumental in the earliest days of organized labor in Michigan, including the GM Sit Down Strike of 1936-37. It is not hyperbole to call Reuther the father of the UAW. He was devoted to the cause from day one, so much so he was known for not cheating on his wife or drinking or smoking or cussing. He felt these activities sapped a person’s vitality and he needed every scrap of vitality he could get his hands on to help spark the modern labor movement.
But when you’re representing hard-working, blue-collar folks, you sometimes need a little crudeness to get your point across. Enter Walter Reuther’s middle finger:
Reuther kept the carved middle finger on his desk for many years, though I can’t find any first-hand accounts of anyone receiving the old middle finger from Reuther. He may have been too classy, even for that.