The Disintegration of the Left-Center Coalition in the Uaw, 1945-1950. (Volumes I and II).

Abstract

At the eleventh convention of the United Auto Workers in November 1947, the anti-communist Reuther caucus decisively defeated the Thomas-Addes-Leonard coalition, a popular front formation that accepted Communist participation. The Addes caucus, which had been the majority group on the UAW International Executive Board, completely collapsed, and the Reuther caucus soon consolidated its dominant position in the union. The Reuther group gained by its willingness to accept cold war priorities, which contrasted with the more oppositional stance of the Addes group. The attacks by the media, by conservative politicians, and by the Reuther caucus on the Addes group for its Communist associations weakened the left-center coalition. The Addes group was also seriously hurt when CIO President Philip Murray responded to cold war pressures by aiding the CIO's anti-communist wing in its battle with leftists in CIO state and local councils. The passage of the Taft-Hartley Act over President Truman's veto in June 1947 proved to be the turning point in the factional struggle. A section of the union's center elements--including some who had been independent and others who had supported Addes--then decided that the continuation in office of the Addes group was bringing too many attacks on the UAW and that a Reuther-led UAW could better deal with the anti-labor forces. In the collective bargaining arena, the two caucuses had worked together to secure significant wage gains in the first two postwar national negotiations. As favorable economic conditions continued, the Reuther administration secured measured advances for auto workers, particularly in fringe benefits, and it was thereby able to consolidate its control of the union. The Reuther group led the UAW into support for the Truman policy in the cold war and used anti-communism to fight Henry Wallace and his UAW left-wing supporters in 1948. The UAW left-wing, shorn of its nationally prominent union allies, was attacked by employers, government committees, the media, and the Reuther administration. Many individuals lost their jobs, and the left became isolated and lost any significant base in the union.