[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 74 (Friday, June 7, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E996-E997]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             65TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF THE OVERPASS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID E. BONIOR

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 6, 2002

  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember not only those men 
and women who fought courageously and gave their lives to preserve the 
freedoms of our country, but also to remember the men and women who 
fought and gave their lives in the struggle for the rights of working 
men and women in America.
  On May 27 we observed the 65th anniversary of an important and 
historic moment in the American Labor movement, the Battle of the 
Overpass. It was on May 26, 1937 that Walter Reuther, President of 
United Automobile Workers Local 174 and three fellow UAW organizers--
Richard Frankensteen, J.J. Kennedy and Robert Kantor--organized what 
they hoped would be a peaceful distribution of union literature by the 
ladies' auxiliary of Local 174. At Reuther's request, several neutral 
observers were also present, including members of the clergy, reporters 
and photographers. At the suggestion of one of these photographers, 
they climbed the steps to an overpass leading to Gate No. 4, the 
primary entrance to the Ford Motor Company's River Rouge industrial 
complex.
  Within minutes, Ford's ``Servicemen'' attacked them brutally, 
eventually throwing them down the two flights of iron steps leading up 
to the overpass. Dozens of the union's members were injured and one 
member died as a result of his injuries.
  The Battle of the Overpass galvanized the organizing efforts among 
Ford employees, and the photographs taken that day brought national 
attention to not only the demands of working men and women, but also to 
the tactics employed by management to crush the early unions. It was a 
turning point for the labor movement. Ford had won the battle in the 
street, but ultimately lost in the minds of the public. In just a few 
short years, Ford officially recognized the UAW and signed its first 
contract with the union.
  The right to safe working conditions, the eight-hour workday, the 
weekend . . . these are things that the men and women at the Battle of 
the Overpass fought, bled and even risked their lives for--and we 
should never forget that. Today, labor unions continue to negotiate for 
livable wages, decent health benefits, and ways to improve the quality 
of products and services they provide. They are striving to achieve 
fairer treatment for workers of color, working women, workers with 
disabilities and gay and lesbian workers, both on the job and in 
society. They continue to champion support for a strong public 
education system, along with the right of all children to receive 
quality education and opportunities for learning throughout adulthood. 
Unions continue to be on the front lines of promoting democracy across 
the globe.

[[Page E997]]

  It is right that we remember those that fought so hard for that first 
contract 65 years ago, and draw strength from their perseverance, so 
that 65 years from now our children will look back and see the great 
progress made by current generations.

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