Don Stevens, former Michigan State University trustee and AFL-CIO board member, talks about his experiences in the Michigan labor movement. Among other topics, he discusses the Association of Catholic Trade Unionists, the anti-union efforts of Father Coughlin, the pro-union efforts of other priests, the internal struggles of a number of Michigan unions during WWII as different factions jockeyed for control and influence and the creation of the United Way as a method for coordinating charitable fund raising . Stevens also talks about the 1961-62 Michigan constitutional convention, Coleman Young, Gus Scholle, the growth of union influence in the state and the 1948 campaigns of G. Mennen Williams for governor and Gerald R. Ford for the U.S. Congress. Stevens says that Ford courted union support in the 1948 Republican primary and later betrayed the unions by voting to override President Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act. Stevens is interviewed by John Revitte, MSU professor of Labor and Industrial Relations. Part three of four. Gift of John Revitte.
