American Labor Leader. He was president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) from 1920 to 1960. He played a major part of the history of the American coal industry. Lewis and the UMWA formed the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in 1938. He organized other industrial unions such as The United Auto Workers and The United Steel Workers of America, and after a long strike in 1946, the UMWA negotiated the nation's first health and retirement program for workers. At first, he support Franklin D. Roosevelt for United States President, but when FDR went against the German Nazi Party, he encouraged those in his unions to vote against FDR. This was the power he had in American history. He was the son of Welsh immigrants. In 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson presented him with the President Medal of Freedom; his citation read: "[An] eloquent spokesman of labor, [Lewis] has given voice to the aspirations of the industrial workers of the country and led the cause of free trade unions within a healthy system of free enterprise".
American Labor Leader. He was president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) from 1920 to 1960. He played a major part of the history of the American coal industry. Lewis and the UMWA formed the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in 1938. He organized other industrial unions such as The United Auto Workers and The United Steel Workers of America, and after a long strike in 1946, the UMWA negotiated the nation's first health and retirement program for workers. At first, he support Franklin D. Roosevelt for United States President, but when FDR went against the German Nazi Party, he encouraged those in his unions to vote against FDR. This was the power he had in American history. He was the son of Welsh immigrants. In 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson presented him with the President Medal of Freedom; his citation read: "[An] eloquent spokesman of labor, [Lewis] has given voice to the aspirations of the industrial workers of the country and led the cause of free trade unions within a healthy system of free enterprise".
Bio by: Connie Nisinger
Family Members
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See more Lewis memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
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