In 1941, after years of struggle the UAW was on the verge of winning a contract at the Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford declared he would shut down all the plants worldwide before he would sign with the union. Clara threatened to divorce him if he didn't sign, and the next day he signed the most far-reaching union contract ever in the auto industry. (p. 169, The Fords: An American Epic, by David Horowitz, 1987). Today, Local 600 at the River Rouge plant is a strong militant local of the United Auto Workers Union with a fighting tradition.