Today in Automotive History
1894 Birth of A Labor Leader
George Meany, the first president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), was born in New York City on this day. Meany was originally the head of the AFL and was named president of the AFL-CIO after the merger in 1955. However, he maintained a stiff cordiality with the other labor leaders, including Walter Reuther, president of the CIO. In 1957, Meany expelled Jimmy Hoffa's Teamsters Union after disclosures of corruption and labor racketeering were made about the union. Shortly afterward, Meany also succeeded in dismissing Reuther from the federation's executive board. This action quickly prompted the withdrawal of the United Automobile Workers (UAW), the automotive industry's largest union, from the AFL-CIO. The UAW had traditionally been aligned with the CIO and chose to remain loyal to Reuther. The UAW, in fact, did not rejoin the AFL-CIO until after Meany's retirement.
Posted by Quality Weenie at August 16, 2004 08:32 AM