He was president of the United Auto Workers from 1977 to 1983 and an adjunct professor of labor relations at Wayne State University for many years.

He is best remembered for helping to save Chrysler from bankruptcy in 1979 by heavily lobbying the US Congress for a loan and convincing workers to make concessions.

Samuel, his mother, Douglas, his sister, and his brother sailed to New York City[4][5] aboard the SS Cameronia and were inspected at Ellis Island on April 23, 1923.

Fraser eventually found work as a metal finisher in one of Chrysler's DeSoto factories, where he became active in the union in 1936.

The collective bargaining agreement hammered out five days later and ratified on September 23 contained restrictions on mandatory overtime, a comprehensive health-and-safety program, significant improvement to the early retirement plan, and a new dental care benefit.

He is best known for his role in negotiating a greater voice for the union in corporate governance with Chrysler during the company's 1979 bankruptcy crisis and subsequent government-sponsored loan.

Fraser mobilized UAW members and heavily lobbied Congress in a move that proved critical[5] to convincing the government to provide $1.2 billion in federally-guaranteed loans, which enabled Chrysler to avoid bankruptcy.

He used Reuther's "equality of sacrifice" formula to convince UAW members that major concessions were needed to save the company.

Fraser then negotiated wage cuts of $3 an hour and waived restrictions on layoffs, which allowed Chrysler to shed nearly 50,000 jobs, about half its workforce.

They argued that the Chrysler agreement set off a wave of concessionary bargaining among automobile manufacturers that then spread into steel, mining, trucking, meatpacking, airlines and rubber.

They also claim that a thirty-year truce between labor and management broke down after 1979, leading automobile manufacturers to abandon pattern bargaining and seek an end to job protections and cost-of-living increases.

[2] His life and professional career is documented in historical materials housed within the Walter P. Reuther Library at Wayne State University.