Tales from the Reuther Library

Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University
  • 5.0 (25)
  • History
  • Updated Bimonthly

Stories on labor history, Detroit, and Wayne State University

  1. May 28

    Tales From the Reuther Library Director’s Office: An Interview with Katrina Rouan

    Host Dan Golodner and Katrina Rouan trade quips while reflecting on the progress that has been made during her first 18 months as the director of the Reuther Library as well as the goals and challenges that lie ahead for the archives. Prior to her appointment as the Reuther’s director, Rouan coordinated reference services and graduate student assistants in the Wayne State University Library System, and served as the subject specialist librarian for the departments of psychology, communication sciences and disorders, and nutrition and food science. Related Resources: Walter P. Reuther Library Episode Credits Interviewee: Katrina Rouan Producers: Dan Golodner and Troy Eller English Music: Bart Bealmear

    34 min

  2. May 7

    Wildcat of the Streets: Detroit in the Age of Community Policing

    Dr. Michael Stauch explains how newly elected Detroit Mayor Coleman Young introduced “community policing” to the city in 1974, an experimental approach to law and order that included affirmative action hiring policies and neighborhood police stations to address community concerns about both police brutality and criminal activity in the neighborhoods. Despite these changes, tensions with the police remained, leading Black youth in the city to embrace labor radicalism from the shopfloors as they built informal economies and decentralized gangs to challenge and achieve political and social power in the 1970s and 1980s. Stauch is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Toledo and author of Wildcat of the Streets: Detroit in the Age of Community Policing . Related Resources: Wildcat of the Streets: Detroit in the Age of Community Policing Related Collections: James and Grace Lee Boggs Papers (UP001342) Kenneth V. and Sheila M. Cockrel Papers (UP001379) Coleman Young Papers (UP000449) Episode Credits Interviewee: Michael Stauch Producers: Dan Golodner and Troy Eller English Music: Bart Bealmear

    54 min

  3. Mar 26

    Women on a Mission: The Remarkable Heroes Who Put Men on the Moon

    Children’s book author and engineer Suzanne Slade describes the creative process she used to engage the next generation of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) with the stories of twelve women who worked behind the scenes on the Apollo lunar landing mission. Slade is the author of Women on a Mission: The Remarkable Heroes Who Put Men on the Moon. Related Resources: Women on a Mission: The Remarkable Heroes Who Put Men on the Moon Related Collections: Society of Women Engineers Profiles of SWE Pioneers Oral Histories Society of Women Engineers Records (LR001539) Episode Credits Interviewee: Suzanne Slade Producers: Dan Golodner and Troy Eller English Music: Bart Bealmear

    27 min

  4. Feb 12

    The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America

    John Fabian Witt recounts how in the 1920s and 1930s Charles Garland donated his million-dollar inheritance to the American Fund for Public Service, or Garland Fund, to support progressive causes and organizations he believed could challenge inequality and reshape capitalism and democracy in America. Dr. Witt is a Professor of History and the Allen H. Duffy Class of 1960 Professor of Law at Yale University and author of The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America. Related Resources: The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America Related Collections: Brookwood Labor College Records (LR000567_BLC) John and Phyllis Collier Papers (LP000141) Richard W. and Constance Cowen Papers (LP000924) Henry Richardson Linville Papers (LP000373) UAW President’s Office: Walter P. Reuther Records (LR000261) Episode Credits Interviewee: John Fabian Witt Producers: Dan Golodner and Troy Eller English Music: Bart Bealmear

    58 min

  5. Jan 15

    The 1968 Florida Teachers’ Strike: Public Sector Unionism and the Fight against Sunshine State Conservatism

    Dr. Jody Baxter Noll recounts the 1968 Florida Teachers’ Strike, in which 27,000 teachers across the state, amidst a shift in Florida politics toward a pro-business and suburban “Sunshine conservatism” reluctant to raise taxes for public education, submitted their resignations to gain collective bargaining rights and improved school funding. Noll is a Lecturer in the History Department at Georgia State University and author of The 1968 Florida Teachers’ Strike: Public Sector Unionism and the Fight against Sunshine State Conservatism. Related Resources: The 1968 Florida Teachers’ Strike: Public Sector Unionism and the Fight against Sunshine State Conservatism Related Collections: AFT Office of the President Records (LR001553) AFT President’s Office: Albert Shanker Records (LR001553_Shanker) AFT Southern Regional Office Records (LR001863) Howard Hursey Papers (LP2047) Episode Credits Interviewee: Jody Baxter Noll Producers: Dan Golodner and Troy Eller English Music: Bart Bealmear

    1h 2m

  6. 12/22/2025

    Talking Archives with the Society of Women Engineers

    Karen Horting, Executive Director and CEO of the Society of Women Engineers, talks about SWE’s archives at the Reuther Library and shares how the 75-year-old organization leverages its history to advocate for the inclusion of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Related Resources: Society of Women Engineers 75th Anniversary SWE Archives Virtual Tour [Part 1] SWE Archives Virtual Tour [Part 2] Related Collections: Society of Women Engineers Records (LR001539) Society of Women Engineers Publications (LR002487) Episode Credits Interviewee: Karen Horting Producers: Dan Golodner and Troy Eller English Music: Bart Bealmear

    26 min

  7. 12/11/2025

    Polish American Women and Detroit’s 1938 Federal Screw Works Strike

    Dr. Martin Hershock recounts the violent three-day strike against General Motors supplier Federal Screw Works in 1938, when women from Detroit’s Polish community led the fight to preserve both their recently-recognized union and their neighborhood. Hershock is a Professor of History at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and author of the article, “Seems to Me You Have Plenty of Nerve”: Polish American Women, Detroit’s Federal Screw Works Strike of 1938, and the Fate of the UAW.” Related Resources: “Seems to Me You Have Plenty of Nerve”: Polish American Women, Detroit’s Federal Screw Works Strike of 1938, and the Fate of the UAW.” Related Collections: Peter H. Amann Papers (UP001229) Joe Brown Papers (LP000047) Stanley and Margaret Collingwood Nowak Papers (LP000003) UAW President’s Office: Walter P. Reuther Records (LR000261) Virtual Motor City / Detroit News Photograph Collection Episode Credits Interviewee: Martin Hershock Producers: Dan Golodner and Troy Eller English Music: Bart Bealmear

    54 min

  8. 11/26/2025

    Talking History with AFA President Sara Nelson

    In celebration of the Reuther Library’s 50th anniversary, Sara Nelson, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO discusses the importance of understanding labor and legislative history when bargaining for better labor contracts for flight attendants today. Related Resources: Turbulent Romance: The History of the Association of Flight Attendants Related Collections: Association of Flight Attendants: Dallas Records (LR000981) AFA Chicago/Rosemont: McDonald v. UAL Case Records (LR002386) AFA Washington, D.C.: McDonald v. UAL Case Records (LR002385) ALPA Steward and Stewardess Division Records (LR002252) ALPA Dallas BNF MEC Records (LR003073) Episode Credits Interviewee: Sara Nelson Producers: Dan Golodner and Troy Eller English Music: Bart Bealmear

    25 min
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Stories on labor history, Detroit, and Wayne State University

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