Recent from talks
George Meany
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
George Meany
William George Meany (August 16, 1894 – January 10, 1980) was an American labor union administrator for 57 years. He was a vital figure in the creation of the AFL–CIO and served as its first president, from 1955 to 1979.
Meany, the son of a union plumber, became a plumber himself at a young age. Within a decade, he was a full-time union official. As an officer of the American Federation of Labor, he represented the AFL on the National War Labor Board during World War II. He held the position of AFL president from 1952 to 1955.
In 1952, Meany proposed a merger of the AFL with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). He managed the negotiations until the merger was completed in 1955, creating the largest federation of unions in the United States. He was AFL–CIO president for the next 24 years.
Meany had a reputation for integrity and consistent opposition to corruption in the labor movement, and strong anti-communism. He was one of the best-known union leaders in the U.S. during the mid-20th century.
Meany was born into a Roman Catholic family in Harlem, New York City on August 16, 1894, the second of 10 children. His parents were Michael Meany and Anne Cullen Meany, who were both American-born and of Irish descent. His ancestors had immigrated to the United States during the 1850s. His father was a plumber and served as president of his plumber's union local. Michael Meany was also a precinct level activist in the Democratic Party.
Meany grew up in the Port Morris neighborhood of The Bronx, where his parents had relocated when he was five years old. Always called "George", he learned that his real first name was William only when he got a work permit as a teenager. Meany quit high school at age 16 to become a plumber like his father, beginning work as a plumber's helper. He then served a five-year apprenticeship as a plumber and got his journeyman's certificate in 1917, with Local 463 United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters of the United States and Canada.
His father died of heart failure in 1916 after a bout of pneumonia. When Meany's older brother joined the U.S. Army in 1917, George became the sole source of income for his mother and six younger siblings. He supplemented his income for a while by playing as a semiprofessional baseball catcher. In 1919, he married Eugenia McMahon, a garment worker and a member of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. They had three daughters.
In 1920, Meany was elected to the executive board of Local 463 of the Plumber's Union. In 1922, he became a full-time business agent for the local, which had 3,600 members at that time. Meany later stated that he had never walked a picket line during his plumber's union days, explaining that his original plumber's union never needed to picket, because the employers never attempted to replace the workers.
Hub AI
George Meany AI simulator
(@George Meany_simulator)
George Meany
William George Meany (August 16, 1894 – January 10, 1980) was an American labor union administrator for 57 years. He was a vital figure in the creation of the AFL–CIO and served as its first president, from 1955 to 1979.
Meany, the son of a union plumber, became a plumber himself at a young age. Within a decade, he was a full-time union official. As an officer of the American Federation of Labor, he represented the AFL on the National War Labor Board during World War II. He held the position of AFL president from 1952 to 1955.
In 1952, Meany proposed a merger of the AFL with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). He managed the negotiations until the merger was completed in 1955, creating the largest federation of unions in the United States. He was AFL–CIO president for the next 24 years.
Meany had a reputation for integrity and consistent opposition to corruption in the labor movement, and strong anti-communism. He was one of the best-known union leaders in the U.S. during the mid-20th century.
Meany was born into a Roman Catholic family in Harlem, New York City on August 16, 1894, the second of 10 children. His parents were Michael Meany and Anne Cullen Meany, who were both American-born and of Irish descent. His ancestors had immigrated to the United States during the 1850s. His father was a plumber and served as president of his plumber's union local. Michael Meany was also a precinct level activist in the Democratic Party.
Meany grew up in the Port Morris neighborhood of The Bronx, where his parents had relocated when he was five years old. Always called "George", he learned that his real first name was William only when he got a work permit as a teenager. Meany quit high school at age 16 to become a plumber like his father, beginning work as a plumber's helper. He then served a five-year apprenticeship as a plumber and got his journeyman's certificate in 1917, with Local 463 United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters of the United States and Canada.
His father died of heart failure in 1916 after a bout of pneumonia. When Meany's older brother joined the U.S. Army in 1917, George became the sole source of income for his mother and six younger siblings. He supplemented his income for a while by playing as a semiprofessional baseball catcher. In 1919, he married Eugenia McMahon, a garment worker and a member of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. They had three daughters.
In 1920, Meany was elected to the executive board of Local 463 of the Plumber's Union. In 1922, he became a full-time business agent for the local, which had 3,600 members at that time. Meany later stated that he had never walked a picket line during his plumber's union days, explaining that his original plumber's union never needed to picket, because the employers never attempted to replace the workers.
Recent media