The Ward M. Canaday Center

for Special Collections

The University of Toledo

Finding Aid

William G. Borden Papers, 1946-2007

MSS-271

Size: 1.5 linear feet

Provenance: Donated by Timothy Borden, son of William Borden.

Access: Open

Collection Summary: This collection contains correspondence, publications, photographs, newspaper clippings and memorabilia created and collected by William Borden during and following his career as a United Automobile Workers Local 12 Chairman and later International Representative from the late 1940s to 1982.

Subject(s): Labor

Related Collections: RICHARD T. GOSSER PAPERS, 1943-1974

Processing Note: None

Copyright: The literary rights to this collection are assumed to rest with the person(s) responsible for the production of the particular items within the collection, or with their heirs or assigns.  Researchers bear full legal responsibility for the acquisition to publish from any part of said collection per Title 17, United States Code.  The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections may reserve the right to intervene as intermediary at its own discretion.

Completed by: Kaitlyn Paull, July 2013

Biographical Sketch

William G. Borden was born in 1922 in Jersey City, NJ, to Alfred and Mary (Casey) Borden. The family moved to Toledo in the late 1920s when William’s father took a job as a lithographer for the Chase Bag Company. William Borden graduated from Jesup W. Scott High School in 1941 and served in the U.S. Army from 1942-1946 as a tank commander in the Pacific theater. He returned to Toledo in 1946 to take a job as an assembler at the Swartzbaugh Manufacturing Company, where he joined the United Automobile Workers (U.A.W.) Local 12. In 1952, Borden became an International Representative with responsibility for organizing union locals in other plants as well as processing grievances from existing U.A.W. shops. In 1976, U.A.W. President Leonard Woodcock assigned Borden to the Community Action Program. In this position, Borden participated in the creation of the U.A.W. Local 12 Summer Camp in Sand Lake, MI, as well as the establishment of the Toledo Area Pension Plan. William Borden retired from the U.A.W. in 1982 and passed away in 2007.

Scope and Content Note

The William G. Borden Papers are divided into five series: Personal, United Automobile Workers Materials, Memorabilia, Publications, and Newspaper Clippings. The personal portion of the collection contains some Diocese of Toledo yearbooks, ephemera from the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter, and several interviews with William Borden conducted by his son Timothy Borden. The majority of the collection details Borden’s involvement with the U.A.W.  Local 12. This includes the charter agreements and by-laws of union locals in the Toledo area, correspondence between union officials, pamphlets and publications by and about the U.A.W., photographs, newspaper clippings, and memorabilia consisting of union and political buttons, pins, and identification badges. Of particular note is correspondence between William Borden and Local 12 president Richard T. Gosser before and during Gosser’s incarceration for conspiracy and jury tampering. These papers provide documentation for researchers interested in local Toledo involvement in the U.A.W. as well as the day-to-day functions and responsibilities of a union local.

Series List

Series

Description

I

Personal

II

United Automobile Workers

III

Memorabilia

IV

Publications

V

Newspaper Clippings

Folder List

Box

Folder

I: Personal

1

1

Diocese of Toledo Yearbooks

1

2

President Jimmy Carter Inauguration Mementos

1

3

Interview Deeds of Gift to Indiana University

1

4

Interview with William Borden transcript for September 7, 1996

1

5

Interview with William Borden transcript for August 22, 1997

1

6

Interview with William Borden Transcript for January 10, 1998

5

 

Interviews with William Borden on Audio Cassette

 

 

II: United Automobile Workers

1

7

Local 12 By-Laws and Agreements

1

8

Toledo Labor Management Citizens Committee

1

9

Correspondence, 1950-1953

1

10

Correspondence, 1954-1961

1

11

Correspondence, 1966-1982

1

12

Events

2

1

Pamphlets and Publications

2

2

Local 12 Women’s Guild

2

3

The Walter and May Reuther Family Education UAW Center

2

4

Memorial Resolution for William G. Borden

2

5

Photographs

2

6

Framed photograph of UAW Children’s Summer Camp

2

7

Framed photograph of Willys-Overland Women’s Softball Team

 

 

III: Publications

3

1

“Reuther of the United Automobile Workers,” Time Magazine

3

2

When Labor Votes: A Study of Auto Workers

3

3

Toledo labor history

 

 

IV: Newspaper Clippings

3

4

Toledo Union Journal

3

5

1940-1959

3

6

1960-1969

3

7

1970-1999

3

8

Undated

 

 

V: Memorabilia

4

 

Union and political buttons, medals, and ID badges

 

 

 

 

Last Updated: 6/27/22