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22 Lab. Stud. J. 69 (1997-1998)
Infighting in the UAW: The 1946 Election and the Ascendancy of Walter Reuther

handle is hein.journals/labstuj22 and id is 69 raw text is: BOOK REVIEWS Infighting in the UAW: The 1946 Election and the Ascendancy of Walter Reuther. By Bill Goode. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1994. 184 pp. $49.95 cloth. Bill Goode has written a well reasoned and interesting account of Walter Reuther's initial 1946 presidential election and his 1947 convention successes. The first chapter surveys early UAW organizing history and the subsequent left/right political fights surrounding president Martin. Chapter 2 discusses the Association of Catholic Trade Unionists (ACTU), and chapter 3 covers the war years and the leadership of president Thomas and secretary- treasurer Addes. Reuther's ascendancy via the G.M. strike and the 1946 and '47 conventions are covered in chapter 4, while chapters 5 and 6 highlight events between the conventions: the Allis-Chalmers strike and Farm Equip- ment union merger, and political issues including dirty tricks, red-baiting and civil liberties. Goode's introduction and conclusion present his evaluation of these events. He effectively describes the varied explanations for Reuther's nar- row 114 vote election victory in 1946: Reuther's red-baiting of Addes- Thomas-Leonard (ATL) caucus opponents and his exposure of the totalitar- ian nature of the Communist Party leaders; Reuther's militancy during the war, his fight against piecework systems that Communists proposed, and his leadership in the 1945-46 G.M. strike; the desire of the rank and file for a more 'pragmatic' leadership which could comply with the anti-Commu- nist provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act; and the impact of ACTU activists' support of Reuther. Goode believes, however, that such explanations are not very convinc- ing. Instead he feels that Reuther won the UAW presidency in 1946-1947 in almost the same way that you get to Carnegie Hall: Praxis, praxis. That is, Reuther persuasively convinced members that he had a program involv- ing an imaginative use of collective bargaining as a tool for worker and social betterment, while the ATL caucus had anti-Reutherism. Goode has crafted an interesting account of this watershed UAW event. He conducted numerous interviews and obviously spent many hours at Wayne State's Reuther Archives studying his own collection and the ACTU, Ganley, Reuther and Sugar boxes. Also noted are convention pro- ceedings, executive board minutes, and Wage Earner, Michigan Labor Leader and Daily Worker editions, along with Detroit and United Auto Worker papers, and numerous key articles and books. Goode is refreshingly upfront about and proud of his experiences, affiliations and biases. He lets the reader know he worked in factories before 69

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