LANSING – On the cusp of the Labor Day holiday weekend, State Representative Fred Miller (D-Mount Clemens) today launched a campaign to bring national recognition to the groundbreaking work of Walter P. Reuther by erecting a statue to the Detroit UAW leader in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol.
"Walter P. Reuther forged a reputation as a tireless labor leader during times of tremendous changes in our state and country," Miller said. "Nearly 40 years after Reuther's death, we can bring national recognition to the importance of his work, which benefited not only Detroit autoworkers, but workers across the country. The auto industry defines Michigan, and erecting a tribute to Walter Reuther that will stand among statues of other legendary leaders from America's past is an ideal way to represent our state in the National Statuary Hall Collection."
Born in 1907, Reuther earned his reputation as a strong union leader during the Great Depression. In the decades following World War II, he served as president of the United Auto Workers and worked to elevate the wages and benefits of autoworkers. Reuther died in 1970; he would have turned 100 on Saturday, Sept. 1.
Authorized in 1864 by Congress, the National Statuary Hall Collection displays two statutes from every state. Michigan is currently represented by Lewis Cass and Zachariah Chandler, who both held terms as U.S. Senators. Federal legislation allows a state to request, by resolution, that the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress approve the replacement of a statue. Miller introduced a resolution on the House Floor during Thursday's session requesting that Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm appoint a seven-member Walter P. Reuther Statue Commission to oversee the replacement of the Chandler statue with a sculpture of Reuther.
"The statue of Zachariah Chandler was donated by Michigan for display in the U.S. Capitol in 1913, and it's time that we update Michigan's presence in the U.S. Capitol to reflect the achievements of the past nine decades," Miller said. "Our state gave birth to the auto industry and fueled the progress that drove our country forward. I can't think of a better way to represent Michigan's vital contributions to American success than with a new statue of a labor hero and civil rights leader."