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Douglas A. Fraser, 91, Union Chief Who Helped Chrysler, Is Dead

Douglas A. Fraser, who as president of the United Automobile Workers union agreed to concessions that helped the Chrysler Corporation avoid bankruptcy in the late 1970s, died late Saturday. He was 91.

Mr. Fraser died at Providence Hospital in suburban Southfield, Mich., his wife, Winifred, said Sunday. He had emphysema.

Mrs. Fraser said he had donated his body to the medical school at Wayne State University in Detroit, where Mr. Fraser taught after retiring from the union in 1983. No funeral was planned, though a memorial service will be held later, she said.

Mr. Fraser, known as Doug to factory workers and corporate chairmen alike, led the union from 1977 to 1983, a period of intense turmoil in the American automobile industry.
Read entire article at NYT