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Reposted by UAW Archivist

WDET 101.9 FM @wdet.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

WDET aired its first broadcast on Feb. 13, 1949. What started as a way for the United Auto Workers union to get their message out evolved into a radio station like no other. In this video, New Director Jerome Vaughn recounts the early days of WDET 🎥

youtu.be

75 Years of People-Powered Radio | WDET and the UAW

YouTube video by WDET 101.9 FM Detroit

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Reposted by UAW Archivist

Kat Farrington, Esq. @katfarrington.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Michigan, Part 1: Black Lake training! This is my second trip back, and it just gets more beautiful

Photo of notes taken in a union class showing a cat holding a mouse in its mouth with text reading "the CATs bring it back to the BC"

Photo of a stone bridge curving over a green pond with a forest in the background

Photo of a building nestled into the forest on the side of a pond, blending into nature

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

“Economic and Social Justice” Cartoon from the @uaw.org’s magazine Ammunition, 1967. Reprinted from an @aflcio.org publication. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Person labeled “UAW” chiseling “economic and social justice” into a stone block shaped like the continental United States.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Materials from the @uaw.org Education Department providing members the tools to speak to their communities on behalf of their union’s positions during a strike against Ford in 1967. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

WHAT THE FORD STRIKE
IS ALL ABOUT
"UAW's members at Ford will write the first chapter of 1967 collective bargaining history. Chosen to lead in setting the pattern for new auto contracts, Ford workers are determined to make that pattern one of historic breakthroughs for the entire UAW membership.
"The needs and wants of workers are great. They have a right to share in the company's progress and we mean to secure that equitable share. Ford workers will lead the union's fight to achieve equity for workers consistent with the broader interests of the community and the nation.
"At the same time, the company ought to quit popping off, ascertain the facts and get down to reality. Ford is trying to divert attention of its workers and the public away from its huge profits. We intend to set the record straight and to see that workers get their equity."
Ken Bannon, Director UAW Ford Dept.
If Ford Says:
"Our proposals. .. cover a wide range of employee needs .
If a Neighbor Says:
"The Union's Asking
Too Much
If the Grocer Says:
"Ford can't afford it.
The Facts Are:
Ford's offer is "entirely inadequate and inequitable when measured against the fantastic profitability and productivity of the automotive ..and does not meet the pressing needs of Ford workers
and their families.
The Facts Are:
UAW has never sought more than its fair share. UAW's collective bay hi are so cent:
bargaining always reflects the relative equities of workers,
stock-
holders, executives, and the consuming public. In the current contract talks, UAW members want their fair share of the company's higher productivity and profitability, but not at the expense of consumers.
The Facts Are:
The automobile industry from 1962 to 1966 made in excess of $27 billion in profits... the most fantastic profits in the history of the world. During this period, Ford's profits after taxes... went up 51.6 percent billion.
as the company's net worth zoomed upwards to $4.8
REMEMBER WHAT YOU CAN DO KNOW THE FACTS AND ISSUES
TALK TO…

By Speaking Up for the Union
YOU CAN HELP WIN THIS STRIKE
ON STRIKE AT FORD
"I know from practical experience that the Ford Motor Co. is not persuaded by our resolutions. They are not persuaded by the logic of economic facts that we marshal, and I think we do a reasonably competent job of preparing our case. The Ford Motor Co. is impressed with one thing, and so are all the other corporations.
"They are impressed with the power of our organization and its will to bring the solidarity of that power to bear upon the collective bargaining process.
"The power of this union is not in Solidarity House. It's not in your Local Union headquarters. IT IS INSIDE THE RANK AND FILE OF THIS UNION."
Walter P. Reuther, President UAW
Here's How You Can Help
Will You
TALK TO YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS?
Your first, and most important job at home, is to talk to your own family about the strike. They want to know what the strike is about, how it affects them, what it means for their future. Talk to your family, wife, youngsters, relatives, so you have their total, complete and wholehearted support.
Do You
KNOW THE FACTS AND ISSUES?
Whoever you're talking to about the strike, be sure you know the facts and issues.
If you need information, your Local Union can give you the facts and figures you need.
Don't talk without accurate, up to date information. You'll be hearing a lot of rumors, phony information and just plain gripes... so be sure you know the who, what and why of the strike.
Are You
SPEAKING UP FOR THE UNION?
Another important job for you
Local Union's leadership team Yo is to KEEP SPEAKING UP FOR THE UNION Speak
up, speak out, and keep building your Union strong.
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO TO HELP WIN?
Know The Facts

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Onion Inc Union @onionunion.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The Onion Union has four months until our contract expires. Here are some tips to unionize your workplace.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

There’s a reason I keep this button on my cubicle wall

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I took a field trip to Greenfield Village where they taught us square dancing. And I should be mad, but they also served us unlimited olde timey sodas, so I still look back on it fondly.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

From concept art to final product, versions of the cover to the @uaw.org Women’s Department report. 1968. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social .

Draft version of UAW Women’s Department report, with bright multicolor design.

Final version of UAW Women’s Department report, with bright multicolor design.

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AFSCME Archivist @afscme-archivist.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Who’s already ready for spooky season?? Here are some things from the archives that give me nightmares 👻 #SpookySeason #Halloween #archives #LaborHistory

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

“A Dollar for Political Action; Register, Vote to Beat This Guy” Cartoon from the @uaw.org publication, Ammunition, 1950. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Cartoon of a man made out of money bags holding a money bag and looking at a list of senate races.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

After you attend Detroit’s Labor Day march, don’t miss Art + Labor Unite! A celebration of creativity and worker solidarity, featuring original works from the Union Hall artists in residence. RSVP: UNIONHALLARTS.ORG/LABORDAY

UNION
HALL
ARTS
ART + LABOR UNITE!
CELEBRATING UNION HALL ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
A Special Event for Friends and Family
Monday, Sept. 7, 2026
1:30-4:30pm
Talking Dolls Studio
7145 E. Davison in Detroit
Food • Art • Music • Reflections • Solidarity

Join us Labor Day 2026

to celebrate the creativity

that lives within our

movement as we toast

the artists participating in

the first-ever Union Hall

Arts Residency for Union
Members.

PLEASE RSVP: UNIONHALLARTS.ORG/LABORDAY
Sponsored by the UNITE HERE Education and Support Fund (501c3) in partnership with Talking Dolls Studio.
unionhallarts.org
@unionhall.art

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

It’s gotta be the @uaw.org’s Roving Eye.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Members of @uaw.org Local 3, which represented Dodge autoworkers in Hamtramck, in a large meeting at Keyworth Stadium, current home of my fave ⚽️ team, @detcityfc.com! Circa 1940s or 50s, from the UAW’s archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Autoworkers in coats and hats sit I. The stands at Keyworth Stadium.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

“Now Is the Time to Make Real the Promises of Democracy” Coverage of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which took place #OnThisDay in 1963, from the @uaw.org’s newspaper, Solidarity. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Page from UAW newspaper detailing the March on Washington in 1963. Has photo of the March, along with photos and excerpts from some of the event’s speakers.

Image of people in a crowd holding a sign that reads, “UAW supports FREEDOM MARCH.”

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

The @uaw.org contingent at the March on Washington, from members who bussed across the country, to UAW President Walter Reuther, one of the event's ten featured speakers. In fact, the UAW sent the most attendees of any group and even printed many of the picket signs. 📸@reutherlibrary.bsky.social

Civil rights demonstrators gather on the National Mall prior to the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Signs that read “UAW Says: Be One with God --Speak Out for Freedom,” and UAW Says: Nothing can Withstand our March to Freedom in our Native Land’ are in view.

Members of the UAW Citizenship Council carry a banner with a quote from Walter Reuther that reads “There is No Halfway House on the Road to Freedom.” This banner was also used two months prior in Detroit’s “March to Freedom” civil rights march.

Unidentified African American women, holding signs and wearing hats that show UAW Support for Civil Rights, stand in front of the White House during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. prepares to address an estimated audience of 200,000 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

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UAW @uaw.org · 28/08/2026

63 years ago today, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom brought nearly 250,000 people to Washington, D.C. to protest racial discrimination and demand economic justice. The UAW supported the march with signage emphasizing the interconnection of racial and labor justice.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Not for nothing, but this was the scene at the Wayne Academic Union picnic today.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Catching an afternoon @tigers.bsky.social game by using some any purpose time my union (Wayne Academic Union) negotiated for in our last CBA. Ordered a 🌭 served by @unitehere.org Local 24 members, and am currently watching two teams represented by the MLBPA. Did Labor Day arrive early for me?

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UAW @uaw.org · 26/08/2026

"Organized labor is celebrating the life and legacy of an artist who championed working women and carried a union card for almost 60 years." 📰 www.thenation.com/article/economy/d…

thenation.com

Dolly Parton Was a Proud Union Sister

Organized labor is celebrating the life and legacy of an artist who championed working women and carried a union card for almost 60 years.

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Reposted by UAW Archivist

AFL-CIO @aflcio.org · 25/08/2026

Dolly Parton knew what it was like to struggle as she fought for working families her whole career. From providing free books to kids to giving working women our "9 to 5" anthem, she was an icon and an inspiration. Rest in power to our union sister. We will always love you.

A photo of Dolly Parton sitting at a desk and talking on the phone in a scene from the movie 9 to 5.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Messages on how politics and political spending affect our pocketbooks and beyond, from thr @uaw.org publication Ammunition. Sept 1950. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

art from Ammunition magazine. Headline reads, “Tax the profit it of war profiteering.”

THIS PAGE IS PAGING YOU-and if you can't be paged, you're going to be hooked-plenty
There are two wars being waged— one war is being fought in Korea,
the other is being fought in Washington against you.
Suppose you were a GI in the last war—
Remember how you couldn't afford to buy anything when you came out of the army?
If this inflation keeps on, most of the GIs this time will come back and they won't be able to make a down payment on a down payment.
Remember how after the war, if you were a civilian, how quickly the profiteers took your war bond savings away from you?
This time, between the new Rich Man's Loophole Tax Bill and the phony Inflation Control measures, you will never acquire any war bonds. The value of your pensions and social security and unemployment and workmen's compensation is shrinking each day.
What do you do?
Dollar for Political Action: Register ... Vote.
But that isn't enough:
You've got to wake people up to the fact that the profiteers have just about driven plain people into the sea.
1. There are a number of leaflets in this issue of AMMUNITION. Reproduce them and distribute them in your plant.
2. Invite your neighbors in and leaf through this issue of AMMUNITION with them.
3. Get your local to buy PAC T-shirts to wear in the plant. $10 a dozen from the PAC Department.
4. Have a stewards' and committeemen's meeting every week from now to election to discuss issues and to talk about what can be done.
5. After you have read this issue of AMMUNITION, sit down and write a letter to your Congress. man and your Senators.
6. Put up the Political Action posters everywhere you can (even in your own windows). Two for five cents from the PAC Department.
7. Make sure that everyone in your plant wears a. PAC button showing he has contributed a dollar for Political Action. $1 a hundred from the PAC Department.
8. Make a point of talking to a different person each day about the issues in this election, about registering and voting-wives and grown children…

Cover of September 1950 issue of Ammunition. Has art with surreal arrow signs.

Art from Ammunition magazine. 1950. Shows a man made out of money bags looking to spend money on senate races.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Did you know Working Detroit: The Making of a Union Town, basically THE textbook for Detroit labor history, is available for free as an E-book? The Wayne State University Press and WSU Libraries teamed up to make Steve Babson's book free to the public! 📖 cdm17409.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/coll...

Cover of Working Detroit: The Making of a Union Town, by Steve Babson.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Some of Grimshaw’s better known pieces, long before his work with the @uaw.org…

Concert poster for Jimi Hendrix and the Experience.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

1984 issue of @uaw.org Solidarity magazine, with artwork by legendary poster designer and activist Gary Grimshaw. Gary’s psychedelic posters for the likes of theMC5 and Jimi Hendrix were a key element to the 1960s rock scene, esp. in Michigan. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Cover of UAW Solidarity magazine. 1984. Headline reads, “THE NEXT FOUR YEARS Our Families & America's Future.”

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

The Cat's Kittens, newsletter for @uaw.org Local 974, which represented Caterpillar workers in Illinois. 1957, from the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

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Reposted by UAW Archivist

AFL-CIO @aflcio.org · 18/08/2026

63 years after the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, America’s unions are marching again. Join the labor movement, civil rights leaders and allies on August 28th as we march to defend the vote, our civil rights and fight for economic justice.

marchonwashington2026.com

March on Washington 2026: Defend the Vote

August 28, 2026. Washington, D.C. Register to march, reserve a bus, or partner with us.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Sweet and sour pork recipe from the Executive Chef at the @uaw.org’s Black Lake education center. 1976 issue of Solidarity magazine, from the UAW archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Solidarity Cookbook article with chef Mike Gardner, with sweet and sour pork recipe.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Very cool to see content from the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social, provided by my colleague, the @afscme-archivist.bsky.social, used on the main stage at the @afscme.bsky.social convention!

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

What was your favorite activity at summer camp? Capture the flag? Canoing? S’mores? Time study workshop, like this one at the @uaw.org’s FDR-CIO Summer School Camp in Port Huron, MI? Circa 1950s, from the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social. 🏕️🛶🌳

A member of the Hudson Local 154 participates in a time study workshop at the FDR-CIO Summer School Camp, Port Huron, Michigan.
(11550) FDR-CIO Summer Camp, Port Huron, Michigan, 1950s

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

👍 ABB workers, 1998. From the @uaw.org Public Relations Department Photographs and Sound and Video Recordings at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Five ABB works give the thumbs up in front of their plant.

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Reposted by UAW Archivist

UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Check out my announcement below on the opening of an addition to the @uaw.org Education Department Records here at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social. The collection is a fascinating window into the union's ambitious agenda from 1930s-1970s. Free and open to the public! reuther.wayne.edu/node/15469

Delegates to the 1955 convention browse through an UAW Education Department literature display, Cleveland, Ohio.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

I’ve seen comps to Episode II, on the cloning planet.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Sad to hear both of you are leaving the station. Thank you for the great news, and good luck with whatever comes next!

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

That's definitely something I want to know and correct, thanks for the heads up.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Equal justice Fair taxes Political accountability Health care for all Original artwork of a range of workers moving together for causes that benefit the greater good. Made for @uaw.org Solidarity magazine, circa 1980s or 90s. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Watercolor of various workers looking in the same direction. Behind them is a directional sign with posts with messages such as "equal justice" and "health care for all."

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Kids vie for the prize at a watermelon eating contest, likely during a summer picnic for @uaw.org members. Flint Park, 1937. From the Henry Kraus Papers at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social. 🍉

A dozen kids on a small stage participate in a watermelon eating contest, each one holding a large section of a watermelon.

Kids participate in a watermelon eating contest, each one holding a large section of a watermelon. They are really going for it.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

“Will Automation Take Your Place?” Front page for UAW Local 199 News. April 1956, from the @uaw.org archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social. 🤖

Union newspaper front page, with image of a metal android embracing a woman.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Local 14 🩸Vampires Chevy autoworkers from @uaw.org Local 14 out of Toledo would receive this stylish jacket after donating 7 pints of blood for hemophiliac children. From the Michigan @aflcio.org News, 1969, at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social archives. 🧛‍♀️🧛

Wednesday, April 2, 1969 MICHIGAN AFL-CIO NEWS
7
PAI Photo
Union Team Saves Blood Victims
So-called Vampire members of UAW Local 14 in Toledo,, Chio, are pledged to give lifesaving blood to aid 40 hemophiliac children on a regular basis. Vampire members work at the Chevrolet plant in Todelo and get a shirt with their name on its after donating seven pints of blood, a jacket after 14 pints.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Bishop Desmond Tutu and @uaw.org president Owen Bieber share words while participating in an anti-apartheid demonstration in Washington, DC. 1986. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Bishop Desmond Tutu and UAW president Owen Bieber share words while participating in an anti-apartheid in Washington, DC.

Bishop Desmond Tutu addresses the crowd during an an anti-apartheid demonstration outside of the South African Embassy in Washington, DC.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Olga Madar (left) and Lillian Hatcher (second to left), with other participants at the @uaw.org Region 10’s First Annual Women’s Conference, reviewing a copy of the "CIO News". The event was held at UAW Local 248's Hall in West Allis, WI. 1956. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Participants in Region 10’s First Annual Women’s Conference look over the program flier and a copy of the "CIO News". The conference was held at UAW Local 248's Hall, West Allis, Wisconsin.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Unique ad for a @uaw.org Region 4 summer school conference, where members and officers could take courses to broaden their skills and become more engaged with their union local. Circa 1960s, from the UAW Education Department Records at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Ad for UAW Region 4 summer school program, with a picture of an old man wearing nothing but a barrel. Title reads, "That Fella Musta Had a Heap of Schoolin'!"

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Reposted by UAW Archivist

AFL-CIO @aflcio.org · 06/08/2026

On the 61st anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 becoming law, America’s unions remain united in the fight to restore, protect and expand the freedom to vote so we can all make our voices heard and build worker power at the ballot box.

President Lyndon B. Johnson shakes hands with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. after signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Guy made a suit, with matching hat and gloves, completely encrusted with union dues buttons. A great moment in the history of dudes rock, from the @uaw.org archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Picture of a man with a suit covered in buttons. Note in the corner reads, "The good old days, when a good pair of shoes was the order of the day."

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Oh, you think the Reuther Library has zero Matthau content?

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Archivists are stretched thin. Asking a question written with AI, sending us on a wild goose chase...that keeps us from answering other reference, opening new collections, digitizing, and in general doing our jobs to serve the public good. Please don't use AI to ask for materials from the archives.

A man and a woman looking bored at a meeting.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Instead, use your own words when you reach out to staff. If you don't know exactly what to ask an archivist, don't worry, try your best to explain what you need. We live to help new researchers and won't judge someone just learning what archives can offer. Research can be intimidating, we get that.

Cover of "How to Speak at Union Meetings" pamphlet.

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UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

This is a growing problem many archivists have reported a sharp increase in the last year. Sometimes, people think an archives is hiding something from them when we tell them AI fabricated the historical documents they've asked for.

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