Visiting Scholars Program Lecture Series: A Radical’s Journey from Campus to the Shop Floor in 1970s Wisconsin

Active in the student movement that opposed the Vietnam War and a supporter of Black liberation at UW-Madison, Melrod left the campus for the factory in 1972. For thirteen years he immersed himself in the day-to-day struggles of Milwaukee’s working class, both on the factory floor and in the political arena. Despite FBI and Milwaukee Police “Red Squad” interference, Jon organized a militant rank-and-file caucus and rose through the union ranks to a top leadership position in UAW Local 72.