Labor / Civil rights & activism
Owen Bieber
1929–2020 · president of the United Auto Workers (1983–1995)
West Michigan parts worker who led the UAW from Detroit through the shrinking 1980s auto industry, backed the anti-apartheid cause and hosted Nelson Mandela at the Rouge.
- Born
North Dorr, Michigan- Died
aged 90- Birth name
- Owen Frederick Bieber
- Detroit years
- 1980–1995
- Field
- Labor, Civil rights & activism
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Owen Bieber grew up in rural west Michigan and went to work after high school at a Grand Rapids auto-parts supplier, where his father had helped found the UAW local. He rose from shop steward to local president, became a full-time union representative in the 1960s and in 1980 was elected head of the UAW's General Motors department, moving into the union's leadership in Detroit. After a hard-fought race he became UAW president in 1983 and led the union for twelve years, a period of plant closings, concession bargaining and the loss of the union's Canadian wing, which split off in 1985. He made the UAW a strong voice against South African apartheid, and in 1990, shortly after his release from prison, Nelson Mandela came to Detroit to thank him; Bieber gave him a tour of the Ford River Rouge Complex. He also fought NAFTA, while his drives to organize foreign-owned plants in the South largely failed. He retired in 1995 and died in 2020.
Highlights
- UAW president, 1983–1995
- Led UAW opposition to South African apartheid
- Showed Nelson Mandela around the Ford Rouge plant in 1990
- Opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Related place · 1990
Ford River Rouge Complex
Ford's giant Dearborn plant, where Bieber guided Nelson Mandela on his 1990 visit; public factory tours start at The Henry Ford.
Worked here · 1983–1995
Solidarity House (UAW headquarters)
UAW headquarters on East Jefferson, his base as union president.