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His life was packed with training for the position he now occupies. His father, a German immigrant and trade-union leader in Wheeling, W. Va., schooled his four sons in the virtues of debate and the blessings of unionism. Walter took his father's precepts to heart. At high school and college he organized social study clubs and led their debates. He lost his first two jobs (at Wheeling Steel and Ford Motor) because of union activity.
His visit to Germany taught him that unions become extinct under dictatorships. His stint as a tool & die maker in Russia's famed Gorky automobile plant taught him that unions thrive only where there is free speech. He returned to Detroit just as the U.A.W. was organizing, in 1935. Naturally, he joined in.
His nimbleness in the verbal give & take of negotiations is famous. Sample (from the transcript of the G.M. negotiations):
Reuther: Nothing could be more asinine than to destroy G.M. and destroy the job opportunities with G.M. We want G.M. to be the most prosperous company in this industry.
Harry Anderson (of G.M.): God, what a change is coming over the union!
Reuther: There is no change. We are smarter. Did you guys hear me on the radio?
Stephen Du Brul (of G.M.) : The same record you played in Chicago? Rent her: We changed the needle and it came out clearer.
Du Brul: I got the platter of that debate in Chicago and played it over to some people and they sat back and said, "By God, it is the same speech." Reuther: Of course. Brother, when you're on the beam you can stay on the beam. . . .
(At this point Harry Coen, G.M.'s director of labor relations, enters the room.
There is some kidding because Mr. Coen has been off for a week shooting pheasant in South Dakota. He says it was the happiest week of his life because he did not have to listen to Reuther.) Coen: Is the U.A.W. fighting for the whole world? Reuther: We have been fighting to hold prices and increase purchasing power. We are making our little contribution in that respect.
Coen: Why don't you get down to your size and get down to the type of job you are supposed to be doing as a trade-union leader and talk about the money you would like to have for your people and let the labor statesmanship go to hell for a while? Reuther: Translate that so I know what you mean. ... I understand you think our position makes it more difficult to work out a solution because we are getting into issues here that lie outside the narrow limits of collective bargaining.
Instead of talking about wages, what we want, and sticking to that, we are talking about prices and profits.
Coen: That is very well stated. Nobody else is doing that but you. You are the fellow that wants to get the publicity out of this whole thing. You want to enhance your own personal political position. That is what the whole show is about.
Reuther: I see.
Coen: Do you believe we have to learn to live 50% better, or do you believe first we have to learn how to create that much more wealth? What has that got to do with dividing up profits and reducing the salaries of the people in the corporation?
Reuther: Because unless we get a more realistic distribution of America's wealth, we won't get enough to keep this machine going.