George Meany (August 16, 1894 – January 10, 1980) was an American labor leader, who served as President of the American Federation of Labor from 1952 to 1955, and then, following its merger with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in the latter year, as president of the united AFL-CIO from 1955 to 1979. August 16 is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a group of workers who act collectively to address common issues. ... The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1955 (MCMLV in Roman) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, was a federation of unions that organized industrial workers in the United States and Canada in 1935-1955. ... The AFL-CIO is the largest labor union federation in the United States. ... 1955 (MCMLV in Roman) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ...

Early career

Meany got his start in New York City's Plumber's Union and served as a business agent for Local 463. After that, he was elected president of the New York State Federation of Labor and served until 1939. He served on the National Labor Relations Board during World War II.

Tenure

Meany was a great believer in the cooperation of labor and capital. Under his leadership, the AFL and then the AFL-CIO supported anticommunist policies. Unions deemed leftist, including the United Electrical Workers and the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Employees of America, were expelled from the CIO by the early 1950's. AFL-CIO unions then cooperated with employers to raid and decertify leftist unions. He was a steadfast supporter of the Vietnam War. In politics, a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meaning based on an alternative meaning of capital) is the principal city or town associated with its government. ... Anti-communism is opposition to communist ideology, organization, or government, on either a theoretical or practical level. ... In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms which refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially in the American sense of the word), or with opposition... The United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) is a United States labor union which was one of the first unions to affiliate with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1936 and grew to more than 400,000 members in the 1940s. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) United States of America South Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand the Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~420,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead: 1,250,000+ US dead: 58,226 US wounded...

Meany was close to Jay Lovestone, the former Communist Party USA leader turned anti-communist. Lovestone established the Free Trade Union Committee as the overseas organizing tool of the AFL. Throughout Meany's tenure, Lovestone worked to establish non-communist and pro-American unions around the world. In the course of this work, the AFL collaborated with Latin American dictatorships against communist, radical or opposition trade unions. Jay Lovestone (1897-1990) was at various times head of the Communist Party, leader of a small oppositionist party, and foreign policy advisor to the leadership of the AFL-CIO and various unions within it. ... The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) is one of several Marxist-Leninist groups in the United States. ...

He is famous for having said toward the end of his tenure that he had "never walked a picket line in his life." He was succeeded by Lane Kirkland. Joseph Lane Kirkland (March 12, 1922 - August 14, 1999) US union leader. ...

External links

Archives

• George Meany Memorial Archives at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland, an educational institution for labor officers, representatives, and staff of AFL-CIO affiliates.
• International Affairs Department documents at the George Meany Memorial Archives.

The National Labor College is a fully accredited undergraduate facility affiliated and subsidized by the AFL-CIO to provide its members with the opportunity to receive a college education. ... Silver Spring is the name of several places in the United States of America: Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring, Pennsylvania These are distinguished from places named Silver Springs. ... Official language(s) None Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 42nd 32,160 km² 145 km 400 km 21 37°53N to 39°43N 75°4W to 79°33W Population  - Total (2000)  - Density Ranked 19th 5,296,486 165... The AFL-CIO is the largest labor union federation in the United States. ...

Articles

• George Meany Biograpy on the AFL-CIO website [1].
• Meany Hired a Former Top Communist To Run AFL-CIO’s International Affairs by Harvey Kelber. Labor Educator. Accessed April 2, 2005.

Books

• George Meany Modern Leader of the American Federation of Labor by B. Finke. Publisher: Samhar Pr (June 1, 1972) ISBN 0871575485.
• Taking Care of Business: Samuel Gompers, George Meany, Lane Kirkland, and the Tragedy of American Labor by Paul Buhle. 224 pages Publisher: Monthly Review Press (August 1, 1999). ISBN 1583670033.