George meany 1894 1980 was one of americas most powerful labor leaders during the 20th century. Perhaps senile george meany and the senile executive board of the a. He was the key figure in the creation of the aflcio and served as the aflcios first president, from 1955 to 1979 meany, the son of a union plumber, became a plumber himself at a young age. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The george meany memorial aflcio archive is the largest single donation to the university libraries and complements other. Impatient with what he saw as an overly passive stance, he urged that george meany, the longtime head of the labor federation, be pushed into. The american trade union movementunlike any other labor movement in the worldis committed to working within the american political and economic system in order to achieve the social and economic justice promised by the declaration of independence and the constitution. Philip randolph was a trailblazing leader, organizer and social activist who championed equitable labor rights for african american communities during the 20th century. Republicans there have failed to push through any antiunion laws, but battered by the great recession, pennsylvanias unions have lost 182,000 members since 2008.
Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. George meany is the author of government wageprice guideposts in the american economy 0. Changing social and economic conditions call for a new kind of. Gregory gray fitzsimons born january 29, 1955, american. With democrats pushing freetrade legislation, gutting welfare and.
The bronx plumber who rose to labor leadership as a lobbyistpolitician not a union leader has got himself a showcase authorized biographycomposed largely of excerpts from his interviews and public statements, endorsed and flatteringly framed by labor reporter robinson u. The ascension by george meany to the presidency of the american federation of labor afl and walter reuther to the presidency of the congress of industrial organizations cio marked the development of a more modern orientation, replacing what many considered to be outmoded traditions. In recognition of its inspiring efforts to organize, uplift and empower immigrant workers and their families from all over the world, the aflcio is proud to present the 2018 george meany lane kirkland human rights award to the national tps alliance. William george meany august 16, 1894 january 10, 1980 was an american labor union leader for 57 years. As president of the aflcio, george meany s influence rested primarily on his effectiveness in serving the basic concerns of the unions he represented. The upheaval in the american workplace the new york times. His father, michael meany, was president of the bronx local of the united association of plumbers and pipe fitters and in 1910, meany joined the.
William winpisinger, 73, machinists chief the new york times. They needed to band together to push aggressively for a. If it no longer meets these criteria, you can reassess it. This is a digitized version of an article from the timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. The writer claimed that selfreliance was losing its allure as workers were encouraged to work as a team. Staff volunteer latin american information center, seattle, 1984. The public knows him as the crusty, hawkish, irishtempered, cigarpuffing, nixonhuffing leader of the countrys largest labor union. George meany rose above the call of duty by digging deep into his spirit and fighting for his fellow labor unionists. It meant shrinking from even some of the mainstream demands of the civil rights movement. Mcgovern, george stanley, a representative and a senator from south dakota. Samuel gompers, george meany, lane kirkland, and the tragedy of american labor. Aflcio chief george meany was by then a bitter old man, who told john ehrlichman in the white house, when i was a plumber, it never occurred to me to have niggers in the union. In december 1955, the american federation of labor and the congress of industrial organizations ended their twentyyear rivalry and merged to create this, under the leadership of george meany. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us.
Cowie portrays aflcio president george meany s refusal to endorse george mcgovern, who had an impeccable prolabor voting record in a conservative state, as a largely petulant response to labors loss of control of the party. The unchallenged stron g m an of american labor 1972 and george m eany and his times. In their efforts to remake the democratic party under the leadership of the liberallabor coalition, figures like shachtman and rustin were unwilling to take action that would push meany out of that coalition. Detail of the hardhat riots from the cover of stayin alive. The book s jacket claim to be the first comprehensive history of american labor leadership is thus overreaching. George meany, american labor leader, first president of the aflcio. On the positive side, we get a strong sense of where meany came from. Gomperss stand prefigured george meanys seven decades later, when he. The book attempted to describe the mentality of the laborer. A prolific writer of labor and left histories a dozenplus books in the nineties.
Michael meaney and his wife anne, as well as photos of george meany himself. He was born into an irish catholic family in new york city and spent most of his boyhood in the bronx. Bugs meany, a recurring villain in the encyclopedia brown series of books. George meany was born on august 16, 1894 and died on january 10, 1980. He was the author who wrote this book in 1956, which was one of the most widely discussed books of the 50s. Walter reuther, president of their union, and george meany, president of the. Even in the muchabridged version reproduced in the appendix to paul le blancs and michael d. The presidential campaign speeches of george mcgovern. Leading the charge to push back against these punitive policy changes are the workers themselves. George meany author of government wageprice guideposts. The unchallenged strong man of american labor 1972 and george meany and his times. The boy scouts of america pathway to adventure council is honored to recognize mr.
Moskowitz lecturesnumber vii5 12 x 882 pageshardcover book signed by george meany. George meany government wageprice guideposts in the. And the standard biographical sources say hes 77 yearsold, was a countryfair baseball player as a young man, began his rise to the aflcio presidency as a plumber, played an important role in merging the old afl and john l. Sam cicinelli with the george meany award on wednesday, december 10th, 2019 for his service to the community and the working families in our union trades. Wehrle on may 5, 1970, jay lovestone, the tenacious excommunist who headed the aflcios vehemently anticommunist international affairs department, arrived for a secret rendezvous with charles colson, president richard nixons. Labor note although most books that consider the working class are usually devoted to studying or portraying the poor, le blancs book takes a much broader view. It was certainly big in the 1950s, when unions represented 35 percent of the workforce, when labor leaders jimmy hoffa, walter reuther, and george meany were household names, and when threats of a nationwide truckers or auto workers strike spurred a sense of dread among white house officials. Meany, american historian, politician, and mountaineer.
In so doing reuther clearly reveals his intention to pull out and leave the. Without a democratic election, whereby people choose and remove their rulers, there is no method of securing human rights against the state. He became a fulltime union official 12 years later. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. Youll have to read greenhouses book to learn why the union did it, and how. Discussed in face the nation interview with george meany september 6, 1970. When bluecollar pride became identity politics remembering how the white working.
Charles colson, george meany, and the failed bluecollar strategy edmund f. William george meany august 16, 1894 january 10, 1980 was an american labor union. George meany and his times by archie robinson kirkus. This book advised women to stay at home with their children. Lewis, george meany, and walter reuther were routine. Meany served as president of the american federation of labor afl from 1952 to 1955. He was president of the american federation of labor and congress of industrial organizations aflcio from 1955 to 1979. Meany, george, 18941980, american labor leader, president of the american federation of labor and congress of industrial organizations aflcio. M eany s entry in the biographical encyclopedia american national biography was published in 2000, authored by historian david brody. George meany would have been 85 years old at the time of death or 120 years old today. Turner timothy newsham stlccforest park phi theta kappaxi epsilon president george meany during the great depression our nation was evolving and using business to push politics. Member society for history of technology, southern poverty law center, society for industrial archaeology.
But neither book goes into any depth on the meany immigrant heritage much beyond george meany s occasional mention of it, for example, in the opening of his 1976 speech to the american irish historical society. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. He has written a number of good books and online at where he lays it all out with a passionate intensity. Swoboda discussed the biography of labor leader george meany and the. Anybody who has doubts about the ingenuity or the resourcefulness of a plumber never got a bill from one.
The us labor movement is not apt to find another spokesman and leader the likes of george meany. He knew how to push boundaries, creating a glamrock alter ego in the 1970s called ziggy stardust and then reinventing himself as a newwave star in the mtv era of the 1980s. George meany has been listed as one of the social sciences and society good articles under the good article criteria. His many previous books include taking care of business.
Meany was thus extremely sensitive to criticism of the aflcio or himself as its president. George meany, the symbol as well as the leader of the american labor movement for much of the 20th century, died of cardiac arrest last night at george washington university hospital. As an officer of the american federation of labor, he represented the afl on the national war labor board during world war ii. Study 54 terms apush chapter 30 flashcards quizlet. Death of the liberal class by chris hedges winner of the pulitzer prize, 2010 the author page at amazon link is here. Jacobygovernment wageprice guideposts in the american economy1967the charles c. Interview with paul le blanc on a freedom budget for all.