re: #128 SixDegrees

Uh - that photo is very famous, and was taken during the Battle of the Overpass at the Ford Rouge Plant. It shows union organizers being pummeled by thugs employed by Ford. Reuther was there and was beaten bloody - I believe that is him with his jacket pulled over his head being beaten by three of the Ford hires; another organizer was tossed of an elevated walkway and suffered severe injuries. Reporters were present and documented the entire episode; this is one of their photographs, smuggled out and published the following day after a harrowing pursuit by the Ford muscle. All on hand, reporters and bystanders, agreed that the attack was unprovoked, and was preplanned by the company.

I don’t care much for unions these days, but this particular event was a watershed for them, depicting the tactics used by Ford and others to prevent unionization. Public opinion turned overnight, and the outcry led to Federal laws being passed that gave the unions much of the power they enjoy to this day. Reuther and the other attendees were viciously attacked, Ford was finally unionized, and here we are today.

In the years following this event, union tactics turned sour, and similar events were often staged to incite similar outcomes in an effort to drum up sympathy. But this particular photo is a poor example of union thuggery. It illustrates exactly the opposite.

thank you for the correction, my history is bad.