Douglas A. Fraser | UAW president, 91

Douglas A. Fraser, 91, who led the United Auto Workers union through dark hours in the U.S. auto industry in the 1970s and '80s, has died.

Mr. Fraser died late Saturday at Providence Hospital in Southfield, Mich., his wife, Winnie, said. She said he had emphysema and went into the hospital with breathing problems.

With his mischievous smile and gregarious, easygoing manner, Mr. Fraser was popular with the union's rank-and-file, who appreciated his candor and accessibility. Everyone called him Doug.

He also was a shrewd and pragmatic negotiator who won the respect of Big Three executives. In the 1960s and '70s, he helped win such benefits as comprehensive health care and improved working conditions.

But he faced challenges as UAW president from 1977 to 1983, a period of severe financial hardship for the industry that forced the union to make unprecedented concessions.

Mr. Fraser considered his finest achievement the UAW's campaign to obtain $1.5 billion in federal loan guarantees for Chrysler Corp. in 1979, which saved the automaker from bankruptcy.

Mr. Fraser's decisions to give contract concessions to Chrysler in 1979 and to Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. in 1982 were opposed by many UAW members but contributed to the U.S. auto industry's recovery.

- AP