Victor G. Reuther - Later Years

Later Years

Reuther recovered from the assassination attempt and continued to lead the union's Education Department for several more years. He was eventually named the UAW's International Director. He was active in the labor movement of many European countries, and became very well known in the Canadian labour scene. His brother, Walter, was killed in a plane crash in 1970, and in 1973 Victor decided to retire and write his memoir "The Brothers Reuther and the Story of the UAW" which was published in 1976. He continued to speak at union conventions and rallies and earned much respect for his unyielding view that working people should always be making gains in terms of wages and working conditions. During the separation of the UAW and the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) in the mid-1980s, Victor Reuther was fully supportive of the Canadian workers' motivations. He felt that the UAW had been giving too much in the way of concessions to the US corporations, and it was his belief that the Canadian union would set a good example for their US counterpart. He remained active well into his declining years and died in Washington, DC at the age of 92.