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In the 1930s Lewis and the UMW became America's largest and most powerful labor union. Lewis used his greatest asset, intervention by the federal government, to improve wage standards and working conditions for his constituents. The demagogic Louisiana senator, Huey Long, gave Lewis his highest praise, calling him "the Huey Long of labor." From 1933 to 1937 the president and the labor leader pursued similar goals. Both realized the connection between New Deal politics and the successful organizing of blue-collar workers. President Roosevelt needed the support of the millions of union men in his reelection bid, and Lewis needed the help of the federal government to fight the corporate giants. National politics, not a philosophical dispute between skilled and unskilled workers, led to a growing split in the AFL and the rise of the Committee for Industrial Organizations (CIO), later to be renamed the Congress of Industrial Organizations...
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This section contains 150 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) |
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