The Bluestone Lectureship on Workplace Issues was created to honor Irving Bluestone (1/15/1917 - 11/17/2007), a vice president of the United Auto Workers Union (UAW), director of its General Motors division, and a leading advocate of workplace democracy. 

During his long union career, Bluestone was a member of UAW Local 551 in Harrison, New Jersey; he became an international representative for the UAW and administrative assistant to UAW presidents Walter Reuther and Leonard Woodcock.  As head of the GM division, Bluestone negotiated for nearly half a million workers for more than 10 years. After retiring from the UAW in 1980, Bluestone remained active in union and public service issues. He taught at Wayne State as a professor in Labor Studies and served as the director of the Master's in Industrial Relations (MAIR) program. When Bluestone retired from the MAIR program in 1996, he stayed active in research and writing. He was instrumental in helping to raise the funds to establish the Douglas A. Fraser Center in honor of his longtime friend.  This lectureship honors Bluestone's commitment to the labor movement and to research in the field of labor studies.