54 | JANUARY 13 • 2022 

O

ne of the pleasures of searching the 
William Davidson Digital Archive 
of Jewish Detroit is seeing a photo 
of someone you know. This was the case 
when I recently ran across an image of a 
friend of mine: Irving Julius 
“Irv” Bluestone (1917-2007).
Irv Bluestone was one of 
America’s great labor leaders. 
He was a mensch of the high-
est order, greatly respected 
and well-liked by rank-and-
file union members as well as 
by corporation leaders. Plainly 
speaking, Irv was one of the 
most decent human beings that you could 
ever meet.
Irv was raised in Brooklyn, New York, 
the son of Jewish immigrant parents 
from Lithuania. He graduated from New 
York City College in 1937 with a degree 
in German literature and then headed to 
Switzerland to study at the University of 
Bern. Irv was one of the rare labor leaders of 
his era to have a university education.
While traveling around Europe, Irv 
found himself in Austria when German 
troops marched into that nation during the 
“
Anschluss” in 1938. Luckily, as an American 
citizen, Irv was safe, but he was appalled. 
This was an epiphany for him: “I became 

convinced that only a strong labor move-
ment can preserve democracy.
” 
Irv returned to the United States and 
landed a job as a grinder at the GM Hyatt 
Bearing plant in Harrison, New Jersey, 
in 1942. He joined the fledgling United 
Automobile Workers union (UAW) and 
immersed himself in the labor movement. 
Irv soon proved himself to be a wise and 
innovative labor leader. In 1947, he was 
brought to UAW headquarters in Detroit by 
legendary UAW President Walter Reuther 
and, in 1961, became Reuther’s top adminis-
trative assistant. In 1970, Irv was appointed 
to lead the union’s largest unit, the GM 
Department. In that position, he represented 
500,000 workers. In 1972, he was elected 
vice president of a UAW that had 1.5 million 
members and, unlike recent times, there was 
never a hint of scandal. 
Irv retired from the UAW in 1980, and 
Wayne State University wisely offered him 
a position as university professor of indus-
trial relations. His office was at the Walter 
Reuther Library where I worked for 25 
years. I cannot tell you how much I learned 
from him. Irv was a true intellectual and an 
outstanding teacher.
Irv’s wife, Zelda, was also a gem, a won-
derful person and Irv’s soulmate. Zelda told 
me a story about a road trip with Irv. They 

stopped at a rest area, and after a few min-
utes, Irv was back on the road. As he was 
thinking about an upcoming meeting — he 
was always pondering ideas — he suddenly 
realized that he had forgotten something at 
the rest stop: Zelda! She would tell that story 
with love for Irv and a twinkle in her eye. 
Irv was also involved in Detroit’s Jewish 
community and is cited on 89 pages in the 
Archive. He often spoke at events such as 
the Men’s Club of Congregation Beth Achim 
(March 12, 199,3 JN), the JNF Tree of Life 
Dinner (May 1, 1993) or at Temple Emanu-
El (Oct. 21, 1988). Irv was also a staunch 
supporter of Israel and its labor organiza-
tion, Histadrut.
Former UAW President Douglas Fraser 
aptly described Irv Bluestone in four words: 
“He was pure gold.
” Indeed. Doug was spot 
on. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation 
archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.
org.

Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

A Legendary 
Labor Leader

Irv Bluestone (left) 
and Doug Fraser, UAW 
President, c. 1979.

COURTESY OF WALTER P. REUTHER 
LIBRARY, ARCHIVES OF LABOR AND 
URBAN AFFAIRS, WAYNE STATE 
UNIVERSITY.

