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- Description:
- In an oral history interview, Don Stevens, former Michigan State University trustee and AFL-CIO board member, talks about conflicts within the leadership of the state AFL-CIO, how he came to head the state CIO Education Department, and visiting Europe in order to help unions in postwar Europe reestablish themselves. Stevens describes efforts to influence elections, endorsing John Swainson for Governor, and tax issues involving Detroit which cost Swainson reelection. He also talks about the creation of the labor center at MSU, the start of Oakland University as a separate institution during his time as an MSU trustee, and John Hannah's presidency of MSU. He closes by considering what that the labor movement in Michigan has accomplished, what it has meant to him, and the threats it is under. Stevens is interviewed by John Revitte, MSU professor of Labor and Industrial Relations. Part four of four.
- Date Issued:
- 1983-03-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Don Stevens, former Michigan State University trustee and AFL-CIO board member, talks about his experiences in the Michigan labor movement. Among other topics, he discusses the Association of Catholic Trade Unionists, the anti-union efforts of Father Coughlin, the pro-union efforts of other priests, the internal struggles of a number of Michigan unions during WWII as different factions jockeyed for control and influence and the creation of the United Way as a method for coordinating charitable fund raising . Stevens also talks about the 1961-62 Michigan constitutional convention, Coleman Young, Gus Scholle, the growth of union influence in the state and the 1948 campaigns of G. Mennen Williams for governor and Gerald R. Ford for the U.S. Congress. Stevens says that Ford courted union support in the 1948 Republican primary and later betrayed the unions by voting to override President Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act. Stevens is interviewed by John Revitte, MSU professor of Labor and Industrial Relations. Part three of four. Gift of John Revitte.
- Date Issued:
- 1983-03-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- In an oral history interview, Don Stevens, former Michigan State University trustee and AFL-CIO board member, talks about conflicts within the leadership of the state AFL-CIO, how he came to head the state CIO Education Department, and visiting Europe in order to help unions in postwar Europe reestablish themselves. Stevens describes efforts to influence elections, endorsing John Swainson for Governor, and tax issues involving Detroit which cost Swainson reelection. He also talks about the creation of the labor center at MSU, the start of Oakland University as a separate institution during his time as an MSU trustee, and John Hannah's presidency of MSU. He closes by considering what that the labor movement in Michigan has accomplished, what it has meant to him, and the threats it is under. Stevens is interviewed by John Revitte, MSU professor of Labor and Industrial Relations. Part four of four.
- Date Issued:
- 1983-03-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Don Stevens, former Michigan State University trustee and AFL-CIO board member, talks about his experiences in the Michigan labor movement. Among other topics, he discusses the Association of Catholic Trade Unionists, the anti-union efforts of Father Coughlin, the pro-union efforts of other priests, the internal struggles of a number of Michigan unions during WWII as different factions jockeyed for control and influence and the creation of the United Way as a method for coordinating charitable fund raising . Stevens also talks about the 1961-62 Michigan constitutional convention, Coleman Young, Gus Scholle, the growth of union influence in the state and the 1948 campaigns of G. Mennen Williams for governor and Gerald R. Ford for the U.S. Congress. Stevens says that Ford courted union support in the 1948 Republican primary and later betrayed the unions by voting to override President Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act. Stevens is interviewed by John Revitte, MSU professor of Labor and Industrial Relations. Part three of four. Gift of John Revitte.
- Date Issued:
- 1983-03-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Part 1: Michigan Supreme Court Justice Thomas E. Brennan talks about his family history, his father and mother, attending Catholic school, and the University of Detroit Law School, opening his own law practice, being elected to the Common Pleas Court, being appointed to the Circuit Court by Governor Romney in 1963, being elected to the Michigan Supreme Court in 1966, and becoming Chief Justice in 1969. Brennan says that practicing law prepared him well for the rigors of being a judge. Justice Brennan also discusses what he calls "the myth of non-partisanship, the nature of democracy, the political nature of the selection of Chief Justice, the notion of representation in a democracy, the nature of leadership, the establishment of the State Appellate Defenders Office, the creation of the State Bar Grievance Board in 1969, the election process for judges in the Detroit area, the establishment of a Criminal division of the Detroit District Court, economic stability, civil disorder, and the 1967 race riots in Detroit. Part 2: Michigan Supreme Court Justice Thomas Brennan talks about judicial activism and the prospective vs. retrospective changing of Common Law, using humor in writing court opinions, and making decisions by law or by conscience in a judicial context and whether his Catholicism is an issue in performing his public duties. Brennan also discusses the controversy surrounding his founding of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing and the school's mission of offering practical scholarship to a broad and diverse study body. Part 3: Michigan Supreme Court Justice Thomas E. Brennan talks about a case concerning the apportionment of the Michigan Legislature in the 1970s, having his portrait presented to the Michigan Supreme Court in 1980, and his activities since leaving the court in 1973.
- Date Created:
- 1991-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Interviews with Michigan State Supreme Court Justices
- Description:
- Part 1: Michigan Supreme Court Justice John B. Swainson discusses his educational background, serving in all three branches of Michigan government, his election to the Michigan Supreme Court in 1970, and his first case on the Court, People vs. Jondreau, which dealt with Native American fishing rights. Swainson also talks about the Joe Smeekens case, his colleague Justice Gene Black, the ramifications of Roe vs. Wade in Michigan, the issue of compensation for lawyers when representing indigent clients, and the famous marijuana possession case of political activist and White Panther Party founder, John Sinclair. Swainson notes that the stated date of the interview is incorrect and that the actual date is October 18. Part 2: Michigan Supreme Court Justice John B. Swainson discusses "Parochi-Aid" school funding, billboard restrictions, drug prosecutions, the case of People vs. Matish, the Detroit Police Officers' Association vs. City of Detroit and his involvement with their arbitration after his court term, the election of judges, the geographic dispersal of judges, the impact of the creation of the Michigan Court of Appeals in 1964, and televising trials. He also talks about the importance of preserving judicial history, the career of William A. Fletcher, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the portraits of former Justices, and his view of the function of the judiciary in the state of Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 1990-10-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Interviews with Michigan State Supreme Court Justices