UAW Archivist
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uawarchivist.bsky.social
UAW Archivist
@uawarchivist.bsky.social
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.
Remembering the Flint Sit-down Strike, from a booklet about the @uaw.org’s 1955 program for GM workers. Less than 20 years in the rear view mirror, it was clear the sit-down strike was a transformative moment for American workers. From the UAW archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
February 9, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Reposted by UAW Archivist
Very proud to announce the opening of the @uaw.org Local 1975 records here at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social. This collection comes from the union local representing clerical workers at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti.
Learn more: archives.wayne.edu/repositories...
February 6, 2026 at 8:55 PM
Reposted by UAW Archivist
Roscoe Van Zandt, a janitor at Chevrolet Plant Four, was the only Black worker officially acknowledged to have sat down inside the plants during the Flint GM sit-down strike.
February 9, 2026 at 12:59 PM
So this is what they meant when they said “For the union makes us strong.”
We‘ve gotta bring back union logos that look like this
February 9, 2026 at 1:20 PM
For those of you wondering how to pronounce "Ypsilanti"," please consult this jam by former @uaw.org member Lee Osler.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_vy...
February 6, 2026 at 8:56 PM
Very proud to announce the opening of the @uaw.org Local 1975 records here at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social. This collection comes from the union local representing clerical workers at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti.
Learn more: archives.wayne.edu/repositories...
February 6, 2026 at 8:55 PM
Site of a labor strike by @uaw.org Local 1975!
February 6, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Just heard a song by the band The Radio Dept. while listening to the @wdet.bsky.social show, Big Sonic Heaven. All while I organize the early historical records of WDET housed within the @uaw.org's Radio Dept. Records.🤯 Just another day here at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
February 6, 2026 at 4:11 PM
If you are ever visiting the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social, make sure you take time to check out the Wright Museum, just a few minutes from us. Also, does their entire staff have @sagaftra.org membership? Because that's great acting.
The Wright Museums Instagram page is HILARIOUS. Think The Office but it's the staff at a Museum for Black History. Better believe this is on my list of places to visit.
Gentle Spades
"I'm a veteran"
February 6, 2026 at 3:22 PM
OTD, 1949. The Feb. 5th program schedule and log book of what actually aired on @wdet.bsky.social, then a @uaw.org run radio station. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
February 5, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Heads up Wayne State community! Support your community and join us for a whistle kit assembly party tomorrow, Feb. 5th from 4-6:00, at the student center.
February 4, 2026 at 4:38 PM
Moving onto a the next archival collection to process, an addition to the @uaw.org Radio Dept. Records, and the first box is chock-full of early @wdet.bsky.social photos and graphics. Really cool glimpse into the Detroit station’s first years.
February 4, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Olga MADAR, shoot. Thank you for the correction.
February 4, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Let us “CLUW” you in…
Pamphlet for the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the group for trade union women affiliated with the @aflcio.org. In fact, the first president of CLUW was Olga Marar, then VP of the @uaw.org. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
February 3, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Really cool local event coming up! Besides his new book about De La Soul, Austin has written about labor and Detroit history, and has done original research here at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
I’ll be in Ann Arbor (Friday) and Detroit (Saturday) this weekend to talk about my book! Hope to see yall there!
February 3, 2026 at 9:56 PM
🏒🍦If you're happy to see that the Detroit #RedWings soaring high again, check out this 1990 feature from @uaw.org Solidarity magazine about Bob Riedel, longtime ice cream vendor at Joe Louis Arena and member of @unitehere.org Local 24. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social. #LGRW
January 29, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Excited for the #Milanocortina2026 Winter Olympics?⛷️
Did you know that leading up to the 1984 #Olympics, a @uaw.org Local 887 member had the honor of serving as a torchbearer. The individual wore his union pride across his headband while carrying the torch. 📸 the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
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January 28, 2026 at 4:02 PM
Reposted by UAW Archivist
"These court victories tell us that … we have a right to say that Charlie Kirk said some disgusting things, and just because we’re faculty members doesn’t mean we don’t have the right to say those things.”

– Todd Wolfson, AAUP President
Faculty firings over Kirk commentary are unraveling
The fierce First Amendment clash between faculty and their colleges sparked by the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk is starting to tip in the educators’ favor.
www.politico.com
January 26, 2026 at 4:16 PM
They keep these documents in the KITCHEN? As an archivist, this setup makes me nervous.
January 24, 2026 at 1:23 PM
"There is no reactionary force which can stand against the untrammeled and crystallized voice of the two-thirds of our population represented by labor."
Excerpt from CIO President John L. Lewis' speech against Fascism. From the @uaw.org's newspaper, May 1937. @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
January 23, 2026 at 8:28 PM
I logged on to ask the same thing
January 23, 2026 at 5:22 PM
A timeline of all the instances of ideological and partisan whitewashing of the archival and historical record by the current administration. Vital work by @unbreaking.org.
We are determined to make it so. The @unbreaking.org team has been working since the beginning to stand up a page focused on Archives & History. Our timeline (unbreaking.org/issues/archi...) and debrief (unbreaking.org/blog/this-we...) were just published today.
January 23, 2026 at 4:00 PM
"Good! A drink to give me strength, and my labor paper to show me the right way!"🐶🌨️
To help those of you dealing with today's snowy weather, cartoons about dogs and winter, from @uaw.org's Solidarity newspaper. Circa 1950s-60s. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
January 23, 2026 at 3:42 PM
When I first visited Philly, I took a great tour of this park by the Independence Historical Trust, and the guide was especially proud of this section, that it didn’t shy away from the uncomfortable history. Shocking to see this level of shameless whitewashing of history today.
Signs about the history of slavery in the U.S. and the 9 people George Washington enslaved are being removed right now at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia, across from Independence Hall, months after the Trump administration threatend to do so.

How far we have not come in 250 years.
January 23, 2026 at 3:55 AM
"Smash the Klan and Black Legion"
@uaw.org Local 174 sound car campaigning in the lead up to Detroit's 1937 elections, positioning a strong labor movement as a key to fighting racist and anti-immigrant forces. From the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
January 22, 2026 at 2:47 PM