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Lewis, John Llewellyn

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
1880–1969, American labor leader, b. Lucas co., Iowa; son of a Welsh immigrant coal miner. He became a miner and after 1906 rose through the union ranks to become president (1920) of the United Mine Workers of America (UMW). Forceful and determined, Lewis fought vigorously to build up the union, won the loyalty of the miners, and thus consolidated his own power. He was one of the most important figures in the American Federation of Labor (AFL) until, moved by the desire to unionize the mass production industries, he split with the AFL and its leader, William Green. Taking several of the largest unions with him, Lewis founded (1935) a new organization, the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO; see American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations ). He had supported Franklin Delano Roosevelt for President in 1932 and had welcomed the New Deal, but coolness developed between Lewis and Roosevelt, and in 1940 Lewis supported Wendell Willkie for the presidency and…
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Full text Article Lewis, John L. (1880-1969)

From Encyclopedia of American Business History
John L. Lewis (L ibrary of C ongress)
labor leader Born in Iowa to Welsh immigrant parents, Lewis became a miner while still in his teens. In his late 20s, he began serving in the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and became acting president of the union in 1919. Also, in 1911 he became an organizer for the American Federation of…
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Full text Article Lewis, John L. (1880–1969), labor leader.

From The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Business, Labor, and Economic History
Born in Lucas, Iowa, to Welsh immigrant parents, John Llewellyn Lewis as a young man wandered the West and attempted to establish several businesses. He became a coal miner and in 1908 moved to Panama, Illinois. A year later, Lewis became president of the United Mine Workers (UMW) local. Thereafter…
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Full text Article Lewis, John L(lewellyn) (1880–1969)

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
US labour leader. President of the United Mine Workers (UMW) 1920–60, he was largely responsible for the adoption of national mining safety standards in the USA. His militancy and the miners' strikes during and after World War II led to President Truman's nationalization of the mines in 1946. He…
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US labour leader. No tin hat brigade of goose-stepping vigilantes or bibblebabbling mob of blackguarding and corporation-paid scoundrels will prevent the onward march of labor, or divert its purpose to play its natural and rational part in the development of the economic, political, and social life…
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From 1920 to 1960 John L. Lewis was president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). He also worked for unionization of the steel, automobile, and other mass-production industries and organized the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), a labor organization. Demanding and unyielding, he…
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Full text Article John L. Lewis (1880–1969)

From The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A Social Justice Hall of Fame
John L. Lewis (1880–1969)
C redit : Associated Press O n O ctober 19, 1935, at the annual conference of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in Atlantic City, New Jersey, John L. Lewis rose to ask his union colleagues to support a major organizing drive among workers in the nation’s key industries, including automobiles, …
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Full text Article A-Z

From Encyclopedia of American Business History
advertising industry airline industry airplane industry American Express Company American Federation of Labor American Stock Exchange American Telephone & Telegraph Co. (AT&T) American Tobacco Co. antitrust…
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Full text Article Lewis, John L.

From American Biographies: American Social Leaders and Activists
Union leader John L. Lewis was president of the...
(b. 1880–d. 1969) president, United Mine Workers of America A supporter of Republican presidents and of Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, John Llewellyn Lewis is revered as a founder of the Congress of Industrial Organizations. He was born on February 12, 1880, in Cleveland, Iowa, to Welsh immigrants…
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