The history of UAW Local 245 has been a story of struggle, courage and sacrifice from our members and their families. It is also been a story of inspiration and triumph.

In the beginning:

The UAW-CIO fought a long hard battle to unionize Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford didn't want the union telling him how to run his company. He instructed Harry Bennet, Head of the infamous Ford Service Department to "discourage" union organization at Ford Motor Company. A good example of Harry Bennett's anti-union tactics was the infamous "Battle of the Overpass" on May 26, 1937. This tragic incident was captured in pictures by a news photographer. You can learn more about the "Battle of the Overpass" and view additional pictures here: http://www.reuther.wayne.edu/exhibits/battle_photos.html

The pictures made the Ford Motor Company's labor dispute with the UAW-CIO national news. The bad press wasn't enough to change Henry Ford's mind. It took 4 more years of blood, sweat and tears to get Ford Motor Company to recognize the union.

On March 22, 1941 the employees at Ford Motor Company went on strike. On April 1, 1941 Ford Motor Company finally gave in and agreed to recognize the UAW-CIO as the bargaining unit.

In 1941 the Research and Engineering Center was known as the Dearborn Laboratory. In order to ratify the first contract, during negotiations the leadership of the UAW-CIO was forced to agree that the members of the Dearborn Laboratory were not to be part of the union. Needless to say, our members felt betrayed. Bitterness aside, our members remained proud of the fact that their hard work and sacrifice helped get Ford Motor Company unionized.

After learning the bad news, our members made the decision to continue the fight to become unionized. They organized under a charter granted by the Mechanics Education Society of America. Ford Motor Company could hold out no longer. On November 24, 1942 our members were informed that they were now covered by the national agreement between the Ford Motor Company and the UAW-CIO. Accordingly, on December 10, 1942 the UAW-CIO granted us a separate charter as UAW-CIO Local 245.

The Dearborn Laboratory is redefined and renamed:

Over the next 10 years the Dearborn Laboratory continued to grow and evolve by embracing the latest automotive and industrial technologies. In order to better reflect their cutting edge approach to automobile research and engineering, Ford Motor Company decided to change the name of the Dearborn Laboratories. On May 20, 1953 the Research and Engineering Center was dedicated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower via closed circuit television from the Whitehouse. You can view the Ford Motor Company history timeline here: http://www.automuseum.com/forddate.html

Local 245 builds the union hall:

Under the leadership of President Leon Schroer, Local 245 dedicated the current union hall building on May 18, 1958. The $75,000.00 union hall was built with only a $2.00 assessment on the membership, with no increase in dues.

Local 245 becomes amalgamated:

In 1973, under the leadership of President/Chairman Art Aucutt, UAW Local 245 became amalgamated when Air Transportation joined Local 245. Air Transportation made history that year. They became the very first salary unit in the UAW. Edison Institute became an official unit of Local 245 in 1974. Most recently, in 1999, Troy Design became an official unit of Local 245.

The Local 245 union hall grows:

In the 1980's it was decided that the Local unio