Richard Frankensteen (March 6, 1907 – April 8, 1977) was an American

labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

leader and politician who served as the first president of the "Automotive Industrial Workers Association" which merged into 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 ...

(UAW). He was elected vice president of the UAW, where he played a major role until he was ousted in 1947 for his alleged

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

ties. In actuality, Frankensteen was a leader of the left wing coalition led by R. J. Thomas and George Addes. It opposed to

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 ...

, who defeated them in 1947. Frankensteen attended Central High School, named to the all-city and all-state high school football teams and earned All-American honors in his senior year at

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a Private university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...

. Beginning at age 15, he worked summers at the

Dodge Brothers Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

' plant for more than six years. After an intended career of teaching and

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

coaching in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

was crushed 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 ...

, he returned home to Detroit to work full-time with Dodge, and studied law at night at the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catho ...

. He rose to the bargaining council of the company union at the Dodge plant, and later became leader of the movement that reorganized it into an independent union. He was defeated for

mayor of Detroit This is a list of mayors of Detroit, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The current mayor is Mike Duggan, who was sworn into office on January 1, 2014. History of Detroit's executive authority During the earliest part of its history, Detroit was a ...

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

. He was aligned with UAW faction that was finally defeated by Walter Reuther. He left union activity and became a corporate consultant, but refused to work for anti-union clients. Frankensteen married Grace Callahan and they had three children: Carol Lee Vitale, Marilyn St. Cyr Fekety, and Richard T. Frankensteen, Jr. (Rick).

Sources

* Barnard, John, '' American Vanguard: A History of the United Auto Workers, 1935–1970'' (2004) passim. * Doody, Colleen. ''Detroit's Cold War: The Origins of Postwar Conservatism'' (2017
excerpt
* Fink, Gary M. ''Biographical Dictionary of American Labor Leaders''(Greenwood Press, 1974). p. 112. * Goode, Bill. ''Infighting in the UAW: The 1946 Election and the Ascendancy of Walter Reuther'' (Greenwood, 1994
online
also see
online review
* Halpern, Martin. ''UAW Politics in the Cold War Era'' (SUNY Press, 1988
online
* Kraus, Henry. ''Heroes of Unwritten Story: The UAW, 1934–1939'' (University of Illinois Press, 1993). * Lichtenstein, Nelson. ''Walter Reuther: The Most Dangerous Man in Detroit'' (1995). a major scholarly biography
online
* https://archive.today/20130102143916/http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=119&category=people 1907 births American trade union leaders University of Dayton alumni University of Detroit Mercy alumni 1977 deaths Dayton Flyers football players Trade unionists from Michigan {{US-activist-stub

See also

Sources