Owen Bieber facts for kids

Owen Frederick Bieber (December 28, 1929 – February 17, 2020) was an American labor union leader. He was the president of the United Auto Workers (UAW) from 1983 to 1995. The UAW is a big union that represents workers in car factories.

Born in Michigan, Bieber started working at a car parts company after high school. His dad also worked there and helped create a local UAW group. Owen Bieber became very active in this group. He moved up from being a shop steward (a worker who represents others) to becoming the local group's president. Later, he worked full-time for the main UAW union. In 1980, he became the head of the UAW's General Motors Department.

In 1983, Owen Bieber was chosen to lead the entire UAW union. During his time as president, he supported important causes. These included boycotting (refusing to buy from) companies that supported apartheid in South Africa. Apartheid was a system of unfair racial separation. He also opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This agreement changed trade rules between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. He led the union during a time when the U.S. car industry was getting smaller. He also handled many tough talks with the "Big Three" car makers (GM, Ford, and Chrysler). These talks sometimes led to strikes, where workers stopped working to get better deals.

Owen Bieber's Early Life and Work

Owen F. Bieber was born in December 1929 in a small town called North Dorr, Michigan. His parents were Albert and Minnie Bieber. His father worked at a company that made car parts. He also helped start UAW Local 687, which was the first UAW group in Grand Rapids.

Owen went to Catholic schools. As a child, he worked in onion and celery fields. After graduating high school in 1948, he got a job at the same car parts company as his dad. He bent wires to make seats for cars like Cadillac and Hudson. He later said it was a very hard job.

In 1950, Bieber married his high school sweetheart, Shirley M. Van Woerkom. They had three sons and two daughters. All of their sons later became car workers.

Becoming a Union Leader

Even though his first job was meant to be just for the summer, Owen Bieber stayed and did not go to college. In 1949, he was elected as a shop steward for Local 687. This meant he represented his fellow workers. In 1951, he joined the local's executive board. He became the president of Local 687 in 1956.

In 1961, he started working part-time as a union organizer for the main UAW union. He stopped being the local president in 1962 to work full-time for the UAW. He worked closely with Kenneth W. Robinson, a director in the UAW. Robinson promoted Bieber in 1964 and made him his personal helper.

In 1972, Bieber became the assistant director of Region 1D. In 1974, he was elected as the director of that region. He held this job until 1980.

Leading the GM Department

In 1980, Owen Bieber was elected as a vice president for the UAW's General Motors Department. He won this election with many votes.

He led the GM Department for about two and a half years. During this time, he helped negotiate an important contract with General Motors (GM) in 1982. The early 1980s were a tough time for car companies. Many workers were laid off. GM asked the union to change their contract to help the company.

At first, the union said no. But later, UAW leaders, including Bieber, secretly talked with GM. They agreed to new talks in January 1982. The union hoped to get promises about job security for its members. In return, they would agree to some changes in wages and benefits. This was a big deal because it was only the second time the UAW had agreed to change a contract early. It was also the first time the union agreed to a contract that gave up some benefits.

In April 1982, UAW members approved the new contract. Workers agreed to give up a 3 percent wage increase each year. They also gave up some paid holidays. New employees would also earn 20 percent less. In return, GM promised to keep four plants open and not close any plants for two years. They also started profit sharing and a legal service program for workers. GM also promised to pay workers who had been laid off for a long time. The contract was approved by a very close vote.

After the contract was approved, GM tried to give its executives big bonuses. Bieber was very angry about this, and GM quickly stopped the plan.

Becoming UAW President

The UAW union rules said that no one over 65 could run for president. The current president, Douglas Fraser, was 64 and could not run again. In 1982, Owen Bieber was one of the main candidates to take over.

It was a UAW tradition for the union's leaders to pick their official candidates. This made it hard for new candidates to run. Owen Bieber announced he was running in mid-October 1982. He later said he "agonized" about taking on such a big job.

On October 31, another candidate, Stephen Yokich, left the race and supported Bieber. This helped Bieber gain more support. When the UAW executive board met, Bieber seemed to have the most support. He was seen as a good choice that many different groups could agree on. The board voted for Bieber to be their chosen candidate. This was a surprise to many. The final vote was 15 to 11 for Bieber.

Bieber's election was not guaranteed, though. Many union members were angry about the secret talks with GM. Some workers wanted to change the union rules to make elections more open. But the union members at the convention voted against these changes. No other candidate ran against him. Owen Bieber was elected President of the UAW on May 18, 1983. He was the first UAW president who did not work directly with the union's founders.

Leading the UAW

Owen Bieber was not known for being as exciting or outgoing as past UAW presidents. He was often quiet with the press. He took lessons to improve his public speaking. People thought his leadership style was very careful because he didn't want to make mistakes.

Bieber continued the UAW's tradition of being involved in social issues. In 1983, he helped celebrate the 20th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. He also joined a group that was against the U.S. supporting a group called the Contras in Nicaragua.

In 1986, he helped the AFL-CIO (a large group of unions) approve a boycott of U.S. companies that did business in South Africa under apartheid. Later that year, he went to South Africa. He demanded that the government release labor leaders who were jailed for fighting apartheid. He also pushed GM to pay these workers even while they were in jail. In 1990, after Nelson Mandela was released from prison, Mandela thanked Bieber for his support.

Bieber also pushed for a national industrial policy. This policy would help the U.S. car industry. In 1993, he met with President-elect Bill Clinton. He got Clinton's support for the U.S. car industry. But less than a year later, Clinton approved the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), even though Bieber strongly opposed it.

Working for Better Contracts

Bieber led many contract talks with Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors during his 12 years as president.

His first contract talks were with Chrysler in 1983. The talks broke down over wages. A strike seemed likely, but they reached a new agreement. This contract gave workers a wage increase and brought back annual wage increases.

The next talks were with GM in 1984. The UAW usually picked one of the "Big Three" car makers to negotiate with first. This contract would then set the standard for the other companies. Bieber chose GM. The talks broke down, and Bieber called a nationwide strike against GM on September 14. Over 91,000 GM workers went on picket lines at 33 plants. After six days, they agreed to a contract. It gave workers annual pay increases and set up a $1 billion fund to help laid-off workers. Twenty-five days later, Ford agreed to a similar contract.

Another strike happened at Chrysler in 1985. The Ford and GM contracts had created a pay gap, and the UAW wanted to close it. When the Chrysler contract ended in October 1985, Bieber ordered a strike. More than 70,000 workers in the U.S. and 10,000 in Canada stopped working for 12 days. This was the first strike against Chrysler since 1973. They reached an agreement that gave workers a bonus, pay increases, and equal pay with GM and Ford workers.

Bieber was reelected as UAW president in 1986 without anyone running against him.

In 1987, Bieber led another round of talks. This time, Ford was chosen as the strike target. They reached a contract that gave workers a 3 percent wage increase in the first year. It also said there would be no layoffs, except for workers who left on their own. Twenty-one days later, GM agreed to a very similar contract. Both contracts were easily approved by the workers.

The success of the GM and Ford deals led Chrysler to start talks early. After only seven weeks, Bieber announced a contract for Chrysler workers. It gave them a 3 percent annual pay increase and a $1,000 bonus. This contract also had a special rule: Chrysler could not give cash or stock bonuses to its executives if its employees did not get profit-sharing payments.

Bieber ran for reelection again in 1988 and won easily.

By 1990, Bieber was negotiating with GM again. However, his control over the union's bargaining was not as strong. A local strike happened at a GM plant in Flint, Michigan, which made national contract talks harder. The Flint strike ended on August 15. Bieber negotiated a contract similar to the 1987 agreement. Ford and Chrysler followed with similar contracts.

Bieber faced a big challenge with the industrial equipment company Caterpillar Inc.. The UAW had been on strike against Caterpillar since 1982. By 1991, only a small part of Caterpillar's workers belonged to the UAW. The union asked Caterpillar for the same contract terms they got from another company, John Deere. But Caterpillar refused. They demanded big changes, like lower wages for new workers and the right to use non-union companies for some work.

About 1,870 workers went on strike in November. Caterpillar then locked out all its workers. This meant the company stopped them from working, even in plants not on strike. Soon, over 13,400 Caterpillar workers were on picket lines. Caterpillar ended the lockout in March 1992. Bieber met with Caterpillar's CEO, but the UAW felt they had no choice but to accept Caterpillar's offer. UAW members went back to work under the company's terms.

Bieber ran for reelection in 1992. He was challenged by Jerry Tucker, a former union leader. Tucker wanted to change how the union worked. Bieber was easily reelected president of the UAW.

Bieber's final contract talks were in 1993. He chose Ford as the strike target. A new contract was reached on September 15, 1993. The union agreed to lower wages for new workers and longer time for them to reach full pay. Ford agreed to pay for all health care costs for workers, but workers gave up some of their pay raises for this. A contract with GM followed. GM made workers agree to use vacation time instead of layoff pay during summer shutdowns.

Challenges in Getting New Members

When Owen Bieber became president, he promised to bring in many new union members. But he mostly failed. In his later years, he didn't put much money or staff into this effort. He also didn't encourage UAW members to help with these campaigns. Instead, he spent his time trying to change labor laws. He wanted a ban on companies permanently replacing striking workers.

The union had more failures than successes in getting new members during Bieber's time. In 1983, the union was able to get a contract for the new GM-Toyota car plant in California. The union also got GM's agreement to extend its contract to the new Saturn Corporation plant in Tennessee. But these wins were rare.

In 1985, the union tried to organize workers at a Honda plant in Ohio. But most workers wore anti-UAW buttons, and the union stopped the campaign. In 1988, the UAW tried to organize a Nissan Motors plant in Tennessee. But workers voted not to join the union in 1989. Bieber later said these were his "most painful" experiences as UAW president.

By the time Bieber left office, the number of UAW members had dropped to 800,000.

The Canadian Auto Workers Union Splits Off

During Owen Bieber's time as president, the Canadian part of the UAW broke away. They formed their own independent union, called the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW).

Canadian union members felt that their unions should have more political power. In the 1970s, Canadian unions had many long and tough strikes. In 1978, Bob White, a strong union leader, was elected to lead the Canadian UAW.

In the early 1980s, the UAW in the U.S. started agreeing to contracts that gave up some benefits to the car companies. But Bob White refused to do this in Canada. The Canadian leaders also felt that working too closely with company management was bad for workers.

The split began in 1984. The Canadian UAW leaders found out that Bieber had tried to stop them from avoiding a contract that gave up benefits. The Canadian UAW groups at General Motors rejected the contract Bieber had negotiated. Then, 36,000 Canadian union members went on strike in October. After two weeks, GM agreed to the Canadian union's demands. These included higher wage increases and no work teams or profit sharing. The Canadian groups learned that Bieber had threatened to stop their strike pay. This made the relationship between the American and Canadian parts of the UAW very tense.

On December 10, the Canadian UAW announced it was leaving the UAW and forming its own union. The main UAW union agreed not to interfere. The two unions then made an agreement in March 1985 to formally separate and divide their money and property.

Challenges from Within the Union

Bieber's reelection in 1985 had some controversy. The UAW saw its first big challenges from within the union since the 1940s during his time as president.

In 1985, a group called "New Directions" was formed. It was made up of UAW local presidents who were unhappy with job losses and the union giving up benefits. The leader of New Directions, Jerry Tucker, ran for a union leadership position in 1986 and lost by a very small number of votes. Tucker was fired for not following a UAW rule. Bieber openly supported Tucker's opponent. Tucker's supporters said the UAW had used union money illegally to help his opponent. Tucker sued to have the rule changed. A court later said the UAW had used union money improperly. In a special election in 1988, Tucker won and joined the UAW executive board.

The debate over "jointness" (union and management working together) grew stronger in 1985. Bieber negotiated a contract with Saturn Corp. that included a lot of joint decision-making. But it also set wages lower than the national average and reduced job types.

Many New Directions members were upset by the Saturn contract. They saw it as a sign that the union was not fighting enough against giving up benefits. In 1992, Tucker called the UAW a "one-party state" and said he would challenge Bieber for the presidency. This was the first serious challenge to the union's top leader in 40 years. Tucker received only 5 percent of the votes at the union convention.

Retirement and Death

Many people thought Owen Bieber did a great job negotiating contracts during the 1980s, even though it was a tough time for union leaders. He was able to stop companies from making big demands. Bieber said his proudest moment was creating the layoff income fund in 1990. This fund helped workers who were laid off.

In his last year as president, Bieber seemed tired. He spent as much time as possible at his vacation home.

Bieber retired in 1995. Stephen Yokich took over as UAW president.

Owen Bieber passed away on February 17, 2020, at the age of 90.

Other Activities

Bieber said he was a strong Democrat. He was elected to the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO, a large group of labor unions. He also led a committee focused on bringing industries back to the U.S.

In 1995, he was one of several union presidents who secretly worked to remove Lane Kirkland as president of the AFL-CIO. Bieber and 11 other union presidents formed a "Committee for Change." They had enough votes to remove Kirkland. They demanded that Kirkland resign, but he refused. Bieber strongly supported John Sweeney to become the new president.

Bieber also served on a government committee that advised on trade talks. He was a long-time member of the National Urban League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The NAACP is a civil rights organization. In the NAACP, Bieber helped remove William Gibson as chairman. Many board members wanted to replace Gibson with Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of civil rights activist Medgar Evers. Bieber's attendance at a meeting was key to the vote. Gibson was removed as president by a very close vote.

Bieber was also involved in his local community. He served on the boards of several local organizations that helped people with health and human services. He was also a member of an advisory council for Grand Valley State College.

See also

• Final Offer, a film about the 1984 GM negotiations and the start of the Canadian Auto Workers.
• Roger & Me, a 1989 film about how General Motors' changes affected the city of Flint, Michigan.