We cannot successfully preach democracy in the world unless we first practice democracy at home. American democracy will lack the moral credentials and be both unequal to and unworthy of leading the forces of freedom against the forces of tyranny unless we take bold, affirmative, adequate steps to bridge the moral gap between American democracy's noble promises and its ugly practices in the field of civil rights.
― Walter Reuther during the March on Washington, shortly before Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech
Walter Philip Reuther (September 1, 1907 – May 9, 1970) was an American organized labour leader and civil rights activist who helped to organize Martin Luther King, Jr.'s March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where he delivered his famous "I have a dream" speech.
He started his career as a member of the Socialist Party of America, although he opposed Stalinism and was not a member of the Communist Party. He later joined the UAW (United Automobile Workers), and acted as their representative getting better working conditions on assembly lines for Ford workers. By organizing strikes across America, he forced General Motors, Chrysler and Ford to allow their workers pensions, healthcare and better wages.
In 1940, during World War II, Reuther proposed the "Reuther Plan"; using automobile factories as plane factories, the USA could manufacture up to 500 planes a day to support Britain in the war against Nazi Germany. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbour, American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt implemented many of Reuther's proposals, allowing planes and tanks to be built at a rapid rate.
After the war ended, Reuther set his sights on getting elected as president of UAW. In order to achieve this, before the election he began negotiations with General Motors to give their workers a 30% pay increase. After a 113-day strike, GM agreed to an 18% raise. This action won Reuther the election. As president, one of Reuther's biggest obstacles was Communist board members who supported the previous president, R.J. Thomas. To overcome this, the anti-Stalinist Reuther ran in the next election and won overwhelmingly, severely weakening the Communists. He then began removing Communists from important positions. Despite this, J. Edgar Hoover and the Republican Party continued to label him a Communist.
Reuther was extremely influential in the civil rights movement, to the point that some called him "the white Martin Luther King". He took part in the Selma to Montgomery marches, the Birmingham campaign and the March Against Fear, and spent $160,000 to bail Martin Luther King out of jail after his arrest in Birmingham. As previously mentioned, he organized and spoke at the March on Washington at which King gave his "I have a dream" speech. Under his leadership, the UAW donated tens of thousands of dollars to the civil rights cause, whether it were paying for placards for marchers to hold or donating to the Brown v. Board of Education case, which ended segregation in American schools.
Reuther made the first donation to support the first Earth Day in 1970 in the amount of $2,000. He later appeared at that event.
In 1970, Reuther and his wife were both killed in a plane crash.