| UAW & Union Events | U.S. & World Events |
1929 | | Great Depression (20% unemployment) |
1932 | | Franklin Delano Roosevelt—US president |
1935 | CIO formed | Wagner Labor Act (NLRB) |
| UAW formed | Social Security Act |
| UAW President: Homer Martin | |
| Sit-Down Strikes | |
1936 | Sit-Down Strikes | |
1937 | Ford negotiations--Battle of the Overpass | |
| UAW bargaining: Union security, grievance procedures, senority | |
| UAW Canadian Regional Office | |
| Reuther organizes 1st auto department: UAW Chrysler Department | |
| UAW Recreation Department | |
| UAW General Motors Department | |
| | |
1939 | UAW bargaining: Overtime pay | |
| UAW President R.J. Thomas | |
1940 | UAW bargaining: Paid vacation | |
1941 | UAW organizes Ford, UAW Ford Department Collection | |
| UAW War Policy Department UAW National War Labor Board & NLRB | |
| UAW bargaining: Union shop | Japanese attack Pearl Harbor |
1942 | Walter Reuther proposes converting plants into “Arsenals for Democracy” | |
| UAW War Policy Division: Women’s Bureau | |
| UAW bargaining: Improved call-in pay | |
1943 | UAW Aircraft (Aerospace) Department | Smith-Connolly Anti-Labor Act |
1944 | | Peak unemployment 1.2% |
| | GI Bill of Rights |
1945 | Start of 113 day GM strike and new UAW strategy. | War with Germany ends |
| | Harry S. Truman, U.S. President |
1946 | UAW President Walter P. Reuther | War with Japan ends |
| Unions initiate anti-Communism measures | Employment Act weakened |
| UAW bargaining: Dues Check Off | |
| UAW Fair Practices & Anti-Discrimination Department | |
1947 | | Onset of the Cold War with USSR |
| | Taft-Hartley Act |
1948 | UAW bargaining: Cost of living escalator | |
| Assassination attempt on Reuther | |
1949 | UAW Foundry & Forge Departments | |
| Assassination attempt on Reuther’s brother Victor | US Recession (5.9% unemployment) |
1950 | UAW bargaining: Vested pensions, improved health coverage | Korean War |
| 104-Day Chrysler strike | McCarthyism |
1952 | Reuther elected president of CIO | Dwight David Eisenhower elected U.S. President |
1953 | UAW Technical, Office, Professional (TOP) Dept. | |
1954 | | Brown v. Board of Education begins the end of Jim Crow schools |
1955 | UAW bargaining: Supplemental unemployment benefits, added holidays | Montgomery Bus Boycott |
| AFL-CIO merger | |
| UAW Women’s Department | |
1956 | UAW Social Security Department (early HMO) | |
1957 | UAW Public Review Board | USSR launches Sputnik—1st satellite |
| UAW Special Projects Department | |
1958 | | Recession (6.8% unemployed) |
1959 | | Landrum-Griffin Act |
1960 | | John Fitzgerald Kennedy elected US President with strong UAW support |
1961 | UAW bargaining: Paid hospital and surgical benefits, improved relief time, anti-discrimination clauses | Peace Corp established following Reuther suggestion |
1963 | | Civil Rights March on DC, Reuther & UAW involved & helping fund the movement |
| | Kennedy assassinated, Lyndon Johnson as U.S. President |
1964 | UAW bargaining: Retiree hospitalization | Civil Rights Act |
1965 | UAW support for Cesar Chavez and Farm Workers | Voting Rights Act |
1966 | | U.S. Canada Auto Trade Pact |
| | Viet Nam escalates into war |
1967 | UAW bargaining: 10th paid holiday | |
| Master agreement at Caterpillar & Deere | |
1968 | UAW leaves AFL-CIO | Martin Luther King & Robert Kennedy assassinated |
1969 | | Richard Nixon takes office |
1970 | Walter P. Reuther dies in plane crash | OSHA and EPA |
| UAW President: Leonard Woodcock | |
1972 | | Watergate |
| | Gerald Ford replaces Nixon |
1975 | UAW bargaining: Remove COLA caps, 4 weeks vacation pay, 30 and out, improved accident and sickness benefits | Recession (8.5% unemployment) |
1976 | UAW bargaining: Paid personal holidays | |
1977 | UAW President: Douglas A. Fraser | Jimmy Carter as U.S. President |
1979 | UAW bargaining, visual, hearing and dental plans | Chrysler Loan bailout |
1980 | | |
1981 | UAW organizes Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Rejoins AFL-CIO | Ronald Reagan as U.S. President |
1982 | | Recession (9.7% unemployment) |
1983 | Owen Bieber elected UAW President | |
1984 | UAW bargaining: Job security program, profit sharing | |
1985 | Canadian Autoworkers leave UAW | |
2000 | Pres. Yokich negotiates voting holiday | |
2002 | | |
