Welcome to the Daily 5 report for Friday, Aug. 29. We hope you enjoy your Labor Day weekend!
Coincidentally, it turns out that the 100th anniversary of Automotive News on Aug. 27 fell 24 hours from the 90th anniversary of the UAW on Aug. 26 — just before Labor Day.
Reporter Michael Martinez, who has been covering the UAW for several years, did a masterful job in this story today going through the Automotive News archives to chronicle our coverage of this iconic union over the last 90 years.
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He found some real gems. A few examples:
- A two-sentence brief at the bottom of the front of Automotive Daily News on Aug. 28, 1935, noted the creation of a labor union aimed at letting workers "share in the wealth in the automotive industry."
- Following the historic 1936 UAW sit-down strike in Flint, Mich., we wrote: "While many assembled at Fisher No. 1 for a back-to-work jamboree, others made beelines to their homes, to identify themselves after their absence ... They also wanted to make the acquaintance of bathtubs, razors, soap and plenty of hot water. Others vowed to catch up on some feather-mattressed sleep. A sort of a fiesta air filled the city."
- In May 1937, UAW leaders, including future President Walter Reuther, were attacked by Ford security guards while handing out leaflets at the Rouge manufacturing complex. Automotive Daily News coverage downplayed the "disturbance," quoting company founder Henry Ford as blaming the incident on "newspaper sensationalism." But images of the brawl published by an on-site Detroit News photographer quickly circulated, Martinez wrote.
Automotive News has covered every major UAW story since then with our best journalism, particularly when it came to contract negotiations and strikes that impacted the entire U.S. economy. By the end of the current contract in 2028, UAW members will earn more than $80,000 in base wages, Martinez wrote.
"The UAW fought for an America where a job could support a family — we eventually got to a 40-hour workweek and weekends off — where you could take vacations and retire with dignity, with health care," President Shawn Fain told Automotive News. "Those things weren't freely given. All those things were a struggle, a fight to achieve over decades."
That's it until Tuesday. If you want to see this story in your browser, click here.
— Philip Nussel, online editor
