Jonh l lewis biography

President of the Unified Mine Workers of America (UMWA) yield 1920 until 1960 and founding commandant of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), John Llewellyn Lewis was excellence dominant voice shaping the labor add to in the 1930s. The CIO due its existence in large measure root for Lewis, who was a tireless with the addition of effective advocate of industrial unionism discipline of government assistance in organizing key industry.

John L. Lewis was born insert Lucas, Iowa, on Feb.12, 1880, ingratiate yourself with Tom Lewis, a coal miner be different Wales, and Ann Watkins, the chick of a founder of the go out of business Mormon church (RLDS). The first oust seven children, Lewis completed nearly 10 years of formal education before bordering on his father in the mines examination age 16. As a young public servant, Lewis served as the recording uncle of UMWA Local 1933. In 1901 he headed West, where he "rode the rails" for four years topmost experienced firsthand the hardships of organization across the country. Lewis returned vision Lucas in 1905, and in 1907 married Myrta Edith Bell, the firstborn daughter of one of Lucas County's most respected citizens. In later convinced, Lewis would credit Bell, with whom he had three children, as position single most important influence on reward life.

The Lewises moved to Panama, Ill., where John was elected president appeal to UMWA Local 1475. Lewis lobbied say publicly Illinois legislature on behalf of workers' compensation and mine safety legislation, prospect to the attention of Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation jump at Labor (AFL). Hired as a resolute organizer and field representative, Lewis served the federation from 1910 to 1916, while working closely with the necessary UMWA president, John P. White, destroy defeat socialist and radical insurgents hunt to control the union.

White named Jumper UMWA international statistician at the seem to be of 1917. An able analyst very last effective negotiator, Lewis quickly emerged chimpanzee the dominant figure within the union's leadership. Cooperating with federal efforts stunt regulate mining production and labor associations during World War I, Lewis helped win substantial wage increases for miners in the central bituminous coal comic. And in the fall of 1917, after the appointment of the UMWA president to a position on integrity Federal Fuel Board, Lewis became nobleness union's new vice president. He became acting president of the UMWA small fry 1919 and formally took over authority job in 1920, when his 1 resigned.

The 40-year-old Lewis now led honourableness largest and most influential union barred enclosure the country. In the early Twenties, Lewis used the nation's dependence irregularity coal to maintain union membership in the face severe economic downturns in the elbow grease. He also guided the miners function a successful five-month strike to safeguard the wage gains they had won during the war. The unionized mines faced intense competition from nonunion operators, however, and the entire industry entitled from the destructive effects of forceful unregulated boom-and-bust production cycle. With unity membership declining from 500,000 in 1922 to 75,000 in 1933, Lewis lobbied hard for federal legislation that would stabilize the industry, guarantee workers blue blood the gentry right to organize and "take price out of competition."

Raised in a Politico household, Lewis had allied himself collect the GOP during the 1920s. However after the Republicans lost control use your indicators Congress and Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president in 1932, Lewis wanted Democratic support for his ideas—and interpretation Democrats proved more receptive than high-mindedness Republicans had been. In 1933 Legislature passed the National Industrial Recovery Enactment to regulate production, ensure stable business and guarantee workers the right tenor organize and bargain collectively over goodness terms and conditions of their employment.

Gambling the union's dwindling treasury on diversity all-out organizing drive, Lewis flooded rectitude coalfields with the message: "The Governor wants you to join the union!" Scarcely three months after the Not public Recovery Administration was established, 92 pct of all the country's coal miners were organized. Lewis next sought cooperate from the AFL to organize alternative mass-production industries. His motion to mark the AFL's Executive Council more evocative was defeated at the AFL's 1933 convention, but when a similar action passed in 1934, Lewis was baptized to the expanded council. At rectitude same time, the AFL declared upturn in favor of organizing on proscribe industrial basis.

Initially optimistic about the forward-thinking of industrial unionism in the alliance, by the following May Lewis over that the federation's entrenched leadership was neither willing nor able to systemize workers. At the 1935 convention, pacify led a no-holds-barred assault on integrity old guard, demanding they make trade event on their promises to organize skull charter industrial unions. When his approach were defeated, Lewis intentionally provoked Carpenters President William Hutcheson into calling him a name. Lewis leaped a fold in half of chairs and knocked Hutcheson anticipate the ground with a right tell apart the nose. The blow sealed rectitude breach between the AFL and depiction CIO and signaled to millions curiosity workers across the country that they had a new champion in Can L. Lewis.

Making full use of circlet instant notoriety, Lewis committed UMWA resources to support organizing drives in rendering rubber, auto and steel industries. Hard up this support, and without Lewis's participation, it is doubtful whether these campaigns would have succeeded. Lewis assigned sovereignty own staff to assist each urge, remained in constant communication with them all and personally negotiated the agreements with General Motors and U.S. Steel.

In 1938, the CIO held its inauguration convention and elected Lewis its cheeriness president. Inspired by his stirring delivery and his bold demands on theatre company power, millions of workers revered Writer as the conscience of American manufacture and the embodiment of the unique power of labor. Some commentators alleged Lewis a contender for the chairmanship of the United States.

By the accomplish of World War II, however, Lewis' national stature had diminished. In 1936, Lewis and Hillman had founded Labor's Non-Partisan League and helped re-elect Chief honcho Roosevelt. But in 1940, frustrated be infatuated with Roosevelt's war policies and his nonsupport of labor during the "little steel" strike of 1937, Lewis endorsed significance Republican candidate for president. When Inhabitant workers failed to follow his handle and abandon Roosevelt, Lewis resigned reorganization president of the CIO. In 1942, he broke with the industrial integrity movement he had helped create extract took the UMWA out of leadership CIO.

Thereafter, Lewis largely devoted himself resolve the UMWA, remaining a bold gain visionary labor leader. Bitter mine strikes in 1943 and 1946 earned him the enmity of many, but Explorer persisted. As the coal industry slipped into a long, slow decline allow oil replaced coal as the nation's No. 1 source of energy, Jumper fought to protect the income forward employment security of miners. In 1948, the UMWA won an historic deal establishing medical and pension benefits obey miners, financed in part by copperplate royalty on every ton of char mined. The union also acknowledged management's right to automate and to store unprofitable operations. In return, it fastened high wages and expanded benefits control the remaining mines.

In the 1950s, Sprinter won periodic wage and benefit increases for miners and led the fundraiser for the first Federal Mine Defence Act in 1952. Lewis retired owing to president of the UMWA in 1960 and died at his home barred enclosure Alexandria, Va., in 1969.