Douglas Fraser
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Douglas Andrew Fraser (December 18, 1916 – February 23, 2008) was a Scottish–American union leader. He was president of the
United Auto Workers The United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and sou ...
from 1977 to 1983 and an adjunct professor of labor relations at
Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...
for many years. He is best remembered for helping to save
Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
from
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
in 1979 by heavily lobbying the
US Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
for a
loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...
and convincing workers to make concessions. He received the Walter P. Reuther Humanitarian Award from Wayne State University in 2006.


Early life

Fraser was born in
Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, on December 18, 1916. His father, Samuel, was an electrician and an active and vocal trade unionist.Joshua Holusha and Micheline Maynard, "Douglas A. Fraser, 91, Union Chief Who Helped Chrysler, Is Dead," ''New York Times,'' February 25, 2008.
/ref> The family was so poor that his father, who worked at a brewery, would sometimes fuel the family stove with stolen whiskey."Fraser Goes into High Gear," ''Time,'' July 23, 1979. Samuel Fraser moved to
Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, while his son was still a young boy, in 1922. Samuel, his mother, Douglas, his sister, and his brother sailed to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
David Runk, "Douglas Fraser, Former United Auto Workers President, Dies at 91", ''Associated Press,'' February 24, 2008.John Gallagher, "1916-2008: Doug Fraser Steered UAW Through Hard Times", ''Detroit Free Press'', February 24, 2008.
/ref> aboard the and were inspected at Ellis Island on April 23, 1923. They travelled to their new home in Detroit by train. Douglas was deeply influenced by the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. His father was out of work for long periods, and he admitted that the poverty and social disorder that he witnessed changed his life. He dropped out of high school when he was 18, worked in a
machine shop A machine shop or engineering workshop is a room, building, or company where machining, a form of subtractive manufacturing, is done. In a machine shop, machinists use machine tools and cutting tool (machining), cutting tools to make parts, usua ...
, and took several jobs in the automobile industry.


Early union career

Fraser eventually found work as a metal finisher in one of Chrysler's DeSoto factories, where he became active in the union in 1936. He was twice fired for his union beliefs and activities and participated
sitdown strike A sit-down strike (or simply sitdown) is a labour strike and a form of civil disobedience in which an organized group of workers, usually employed at factories or other centralized locations, take unauthorized or illegal possession of the workpl ...
s at Chrysler. Fraser was elected president of UAW Local 227 in 1943, and served in the
US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. After the war, Fraser quickly rose through the ranks in the UAW. He was appointed an international representative in 1947. During a difficult 104-day strike at Chrysler in 1950, he deeply impressed UAW staff with his negotiating skills. He joined the personal staff of UAW President
Walter Reuther Walter Philip Reuther (; September 1, 1907 – May 9, 1970) was an American leader of organized labor and civil rights activist who built the United Automobile Workers (UAW) into one of the most progressive labor unions in American history. He ...
in 1951, where he was a personal administrative assistant to Reuther. In 1959, he was elected co-director of UAW Region 1A, and a member-at-large of the international UAW board of directors in 1962. Reuther soon thereafter appointed him director of the UAW's Chrysler, Skilled Trades, and Technical, Office and Professional Departments. He was elected a vice-president of the international union in 1970. As a key member of Reuther's staff, Fraser was involved in a number of successful collective bargaining agreements, early retirement program in 1964, and wage parity for both US and Canadian members in 1967. Reuther died in a plane crash during the 1970 contract talks, leading many to speculate that Fraser might be tapped to lead the union. However, after a deeply-divided vote of the UAW executive council voted 13-to-12 against him, Fraser withdrew his name, and
Leonard Woodcock Leonard Freel Woodcock (February 15, 1911 – January 16, 2001) was President of the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the first US ambassador to the People's Republic of China after being the last Chief of the US Liaison Office in Beijing. Early li ...
became union president.Nelson Lichtenstein, ''The Most Dangerous Man in Detroit: Walter Reuther and the Fate of American Labor,'' Urbana, Ill., University of Illinois Press, 1997, Fraser led a nine-day strike against Chrysler that began on September 14, 1973, the first against the automaker in decades. The collective bargaining agreement hammered out five days later and ratified on September 23 contained restrictions on mandatory overtime, a comprehensive health-and-safety program, significant improvement to the early retirement plan, and a new dental care benefit. A new streamlined arbitration process was also negotiated, which reduced the time for resolving grievances.


UAW presidency

Fraser was president of the UAW from 1977 to 1983. He was elected president after Woodcock had reached the mandatory retirement age of 65, according to the UAW constitution. He is best known for his role in negotiating a greater voice for the union in corporate governance with Chrysler during the company's 1979 bankruptcy crisis and subsequent government-sponsored loan. Fraser mobilized UAW members and heavily lobbied Congress in a move that proved critical to convincing the government to provide $1.2 billion in federally-guaranteed loans, which enabled Chrysler to avoid bankruptcy. He used Reuther's "equality of sacrifice" formula to convince UAW members that major concessions were needed to save the company. Fraser then negotiated wage cuts of $3 an hour and waived restrictions on layoffs, which allowed Chrysler to shed nearly 50,000 jobs, about half its workforce. In an unprecedented move, Chrysler Corporation named Fraser to its board of directors, on which he served from 1980 to 1984. He had pressed for automobile manufacturers to put UAW members on their boards in 1976. He was the first labor leader to sit on the board of directors of an important American company. Fraser negotiated another round of concessionary contracts in 1982. The
early 1980s recession The early 1980s recession was a severe economic recession that affected much of the world between approximately the start of 1980 and 1982. Long-term effects of the early 1980s recession contributed to the Latin American debt crisis, long-lastin ...
hit the
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
particularly hard. To help save the company, Fraser negotiated significant wage and benefit cuts. The same wage concessions were given to
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
, as Fraser sought to keep wages uniform across the industry to avoid giving one company a cost advantage over another. Some deeply criticized Fraser's 1979 negotiations, however. They argued that the Chrysler agreement set off a wave of concessionary bargaining among automobile manufacturers that then spread into steel, mining, trucking, meatpacking, airlines and rubber. They also claim that a thirty-year truce between labor and management broke down after 1979, leading automobile manufacturers to abandon
pattern bargaining Pattern bargaining is a process in labour relations, where a trade union gains a new and superior entitlement from one employer and then uses that agreement as a precedent to demand the same entitlement or a superior one from other employers. In t ...
and seek an end to job protections and cost-of-living increases.


Social activism

Fraser was active in politics his entire life. A
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...
, he was an unabashed
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...
. Socially progressive, he was a vocal supporter of the Civil Rights Movement. He defied most UAW in his strong support of
desegregation busing Desegregation busing (also known as integrated busing, forced busing, or simply busing) was an attempt to diversify the racial make-up of schools in the United States by transporting students to more distant schools with less diverse student pop ...
in
public schools Public school may refer to: *Public school (government-funded), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging private schools in England and Wales *Great Public Schools, ...
. Despite resistance from both staff and members, he began initiatives within the UAW and the auto industry to recruit more minorities and women. He also pushed for
national health insurance National health insurance (NHI), sometimes called statutory health insurance (SHI), is a system of health insurance that insures a national population against the costs of health care. It may be administered by the public sector, the private sector ...
.


Retirement

Fraser retired as UAW president in 1983. He was an adjunct professor at
Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...
for many years, teaching labor relations and
labor history Labor history is a sub-discipline of social history which specializes on the history of the working classes and the labor movement. Labor historians may concern themselves with issues of gender, race, ethnicity, and other factors besides class ...
. A major research and study center, the Douglas A. Fraser Center for Workplace Issues, was named after him. Fraser received The International Center in New York's Award of Excellence for his significant contributions to life in America.


Death

Douglas Fraser died on February 23, 2008, of complications from
emphysema Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema. Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...
at Providence Hospital in
Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Southfield borders Detroit to the north, roughly northwest of downtown Downtown Detroit, Detroit. As of the 2020 Uni ...
.


Archival collections

His life and professional career is documented in historical materials housed within the Walter P. Reuther Library at
Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...
. His time as UAW president and vice-president and as university professor are chronicled in individual collections. The archival materials include personal correspondence, administrative memoranda, photographs, and other record types. Researchers are encouraged to find the collections at th
Walter P. Reuther Library website


Quotes

*"The Chrysler workers saved the Chrysler Corporation." *"Size alone I don't think is the only measurement for a labor union. It's vitality. Your resources are more limited, but it's how you spend those resources. If you spend them on communications and organization and political activity, you can be a very viable force with a much smaller number than we had in the past." *"I believe leaders of the business community, with few exceptions, have chosen to wage a one-sided class war today in our country—a war against working people, the unemployed, the poor, the minorities, the very young and the very old, and even many in the middle class of our society."Jerry Tucker, "U.S. Labor In Crisis: The Current Internal Debate and the Role of Democracy in its Revitalization," ''Z Magazine,'' March 21, 2005. *"I would rather sit with the rural poor, the desperate children of urban blight, the victims of racism, and working people seeking a better life than with those whose religion is the status quo, whose goal is profit and whose hearts are cold." *"That’s not an adequate answer. ... Business is about making money, but labor leaders are supposed to be about helping workers." (in response to AFL-CIO President John Sweeney's assertion: "There is no more corruption in unions than there is in business or in Congress.")Bernard Weisberger, "Bread and Butter; Bread and Roses," ''American Heritage,'' September 1998.


References


External links



*[http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/conversations/Fraser/fraser-con0.html "The Labor Movement, Protectionism, and the International Economy: Conversation with Douglas A. Fraser, Former President of the United Automobile Workers."] With Harry Kreisler, Executive Director, Institute of International Studies, and Raymond E. Miles, Dean, School of Business Administration. University of California at Berkeley. February 12, 1985.
UAW President’s Office: Douglas A. Fraser Collection. Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs. Wayne State University.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Douglas Presidents of the United Auto Workers 1916 births 2008 deaths Wayne State University faculty Scottish emigrants to the United States Trade unionists from Glasgow Deaths from emphysema American trade unionists of Scottish descent United States Army personnel of World War II Vice presidents of the AFL-CIO