William George Meany (August 16, 1894 – January 10, 1980) was an American labor union administrator for 57 years. He was important for the creation of the AFL–CIO and served as the AFL–CIO's first president, from 1955 to 1979.
Meany, the son of a union plumber, became a plumber himself at a young age. He became a full-time union official 12 years later. As an officer of the American Federation of Labor, he represented the AFL on the National War Labor Board during World War II. He served as president of the AFL from 1952 to 1955.
He proposed its merger with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in 1952 and managed the negotiations until the merger was completed in 1955. He then served as president of the merged AFL–CIO for the next 24 years.
Meany had a reputation for integrity and consistent opposition to corruption in the labor movement,[1] and strong anti-communism. He was one of the best known union administrators in the United States during the mid-20th century.[2]
^Hutchinson, John (Winter 1971). "George Meany and the Wayward". California Management Review. 14 (2). University of California, Berkeley: 51–60. doi:10.2307/41164335. JSTOR 41164335. S2CID 154102282. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
^Meagher, Timothy J. (2005). The Columbia Guide to Irish American History. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-12070-8.
William GeorgeMeany (August 16, 1894 – January 10, 1980) was an American labor union administrator for 57 years. He was important for the creation of...
Meany is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Edmond S. Meany, American historian, politician, and Mountaineer GeorgeMeany, American labor...
for Secretary of Labor, was deemed unacceptable by AFL–CIO President GeorgeMeany, which pushed to fill the position with Shultz, then Dean of University...
level International Scouter's Award Community Organization Award AFL–CIO GeorgeMeany Award (is also part of this category, but retains the use of its original...
leaders who saw him as a visionary and visited him in his office at the GeorgeMeany Center. He befriended Lech Walesa as well as Marian Krzaklewski who replaced...
July 2014. Labor's Heritage: Quarterly of the GeorgeMeany Memorial Archives. Silver Spring, MD: GeorgeMeany Memorial Archives. 2004. p. 71. James, Bob...
1955, forming the new entity known as the AFL–CIO. AFL–CIO President GeorgeMeany and his successors would have a cool relationship with all ITU presidents...
Gilded Age. Gompers inspired later generations of labor leaders, such as GeorgeMeany, who paid tribute to Gompers as a European immigrant who pioneered a...
nonviolent civil disobedience. He cofounded the AFL-CIO in 1955 with GeorgeMeany. He survived two attempted assassinations, including one at home where...
to oust the IBT on charges of Hoffa's corrupt leadership. President GeorgeMeany gave an emotional speech, advocating the removal of the IBT and stating...
Gompers, GeorgeMeany, Lane Kirkland, and the Tragedy of American Labor, 1999, page 40. Paul Buhle, Taking Care of Business, Samuel Gompers, GeorgeMeany, Lane...
election generated a tremendous political battle between AFL President GeorgeMeany, who supported his election, and federation vice presidents who felt...
Unions Under the National Labor Relations Act. Silver Spring, Mary.: GeorgeMeany Center for Labor Studies, 1991. Diamond, Virginia R. and Sneiderman,...
visiting Kennedy at the White House in April 1961. In 1967, labor leader GeorgeMeany asserted that those labor unionists (such as himself) who supported the...
speechwriter for Democratic Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson, AFL–CIO Presidents GeorgeMeany and Lane Kirkland, and other leaders of the Democratic Party, labor unions...
1981 and 1989. George H. W. Bush awarded 38 medals between 1989 and 1993. Bill Clinton awarded 89 medals between 1993 and 2001. George W. Bush awarded...
Belloni, Italian professional road racing cyclist (b. 1892) January 10 – GeorgeMeany, American labor leader (b. 1894) January 11 Valentine Blomfield, Major-General...
lead to mass unemployment in the aerospace sector. AFL–CIO President GeorgeMeany suggested that the race to develop a first-generation SST was already...
international human rights." In December 2016, he was awarded the 2016 AFL-CIO GeorgeMeany-Lane Kirkland Human Rights Award for his "dedication to and effectiveness...
B. Wells, Walter H. Judd, A. S. J. Carnahan, Philip M. Klutznick and GeorgeMeany. She held delegacy for two years and addressed the General Assembly twice...
episode is dated February 6, 1961. Krusty's guest was AFL–CIO chairman GeorgeMeany. The third act is largely a parody of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window...
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