Presidential Cabinet Secretary. He served as the 7th United States Secretary of Labor during the Administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953). Following service as a field artillery soldier with the United States Army during World War I, he joined the Steamfitters Local 597, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, and gradually rose to a top-ranking union official. Durkin was appointed State Director of Labor of Illinois (1933 to 1941), during the Governorship of Henry Horner and while at this position, he devised such practices as state labor mediation service and state unemployment benefits. He returned to the United Association to serve as secretary-treasurer and eventual president. He served on the National War Labor Board during World War II and in 1951, President Harry S. Truman appointed Durkin to serve on the Defense Mobilization Board and National Resources Board. Durkin resigned eight months into his term as Secretary of Labor due to his disagreement with the Eisenhower Administration’s decision not to rescind a provision of the Taft-Hartley Act. Durkin died in early 1955 of complications from a brain tumor.
Presidential Cabinet Secretary. He served as the 7th United States Secretary of Labor during the Administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953). Following service as a field artillery soldier with the United States Army during World War I, he joined the Steamfitters Local 597, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, and gradually rose to a top-ranking union official. Durkin was appointed State Director of Labor of Illinois (1933 to 1941), during the Governorship of Henry Horner and while at this position, he devised such practices as state labor mediation service and state unemployment benefits. He returned to the United Association to serve as secretary-treasurer and eventual president. He served on the National War Labor Board during World War II and in 1951, President Harry S. Truman appointed Durkin to serve on the Defense Mobilization Board and National Resources Board. Durkin resigned eight months into his term as Secretary of Labor due to his disagreement with the Eisenhower Administration’s decision not to rescind a provision of the Taft-Hartley Act. Durkin died in early 1955 of complications from a brain tumor.
Bio by: C.S.
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