Meany, George, 1894-1980, American labor leader, president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO; 1955-79), b. New York City. A plumber, he was elected business agent of his local union in 1922 and rose in 1934 to the presidency of the New York State Federation of Labor. He proved an able lobbyist before the Albany legislature, where he successfully helped promote the passage of 72 prolabor bills. Elected secretary-treasurer of the AFL in 1939, he held that post until his elevation to the presidency upon the death of William Green (1952). When the AFL and the CIO merged in 1955, Meany was elected head of the new federation and was reelected after that without opposition. Angered by reforms in the Democratic party in 1972, Meany was influential in leading the traditionally Democratic AFL-CIO into a neutral stance, supporting neither one of the major candidates in the presidential election. Many observers agreed that this was a significant element in President Nixon's landslide victory. Meany later broke with Nixon, however, and became an early advocate of his resignation or impeachment. A supporter of Jimmy Carter in the 1976 election, Meany later denounced Carter's economic policies.

(born Aug. 16, 1894, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died Jan. 10, 1980, Washington, D.C.) U.S. labour leader. A plumber by trade, he joined the United Association of Plumbers and Steam Fitters in 1915 and rose through the ranks as a union official. He was elected secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1939 and became its president in 1952. He led the merger of the AFL and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in 1955, helping reconcile the two federations despite their competitiveness and long-standing differences. Conservative and anticommunist, as president of the AFL-CIO (1955–79) he steered the U.S. labour movement away from radicalism. Feisty and often dictatorial, he expelled the Teamsters union from the AFL-CIO in 1957, and he lost the United Automobile Workers in 1967 after disputes with Walter Reuther. Meany wielded considerable influence in the Democratic Party through the 1970s.

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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. He was born and raised on City Island, Bronx and used to own a house there. He was rumored to be responsible for the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa.

Early career

Meany got his start as a plumber as an apprentice under Francis A. Taylor and eventually joined the 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 1950s. AFL-CIO unions then cooperated with employers to raid and decertify leftist unions. He was a steadfast supporter of the Vietnam War.

Meany was close to Jay Lovestone, the former Communist Party USA leader turned anti-communist. Lovestone established the Free Trade Union Committee (now known as the American Center for International Labor Solidarity) 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.

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.

References

• Buhle, Paul. Taking Care of Business: Samuel Gompers, George Meany, Lane Kirkland, and the Tragedy of American Labor. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1999. ISBN 1-58367-003-3
• Finke, Blythe F. George Meany: Modern Leader of the American Federation of Labor. Charlotteville, N.Y.: SamHar Press, 1972. ISBN 0-87157-548-5
• Goulden, Joseph C. Meany. New York: Atheneum, 1972.
• Robinson, Archie. George Meany and His Times. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1981. ISBN 9780671421632

External links

• "George Meany." AFL-CIO. No date. Biography on the AFL-CIO Web site.
• George Meany Memorial Archives. Located at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland.
• Kelber, Harry. "Meany Hired a Former Top Communist To Run AFL-CIO’s International Affairs." Labor Educator. No date. Accessed April 2, 2005.
• Kim Scipes, 2000, “It’s Time to Come Clean: Open the AFL-CIO Archives on International Labor Operations.” Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 25, No. 2, Summer: 4-25. [Posted on-line in English by LabourNet Germany at http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/gewerkschaft/scipes2.html .