Edward Lamb

Edward Lamb (April 23, 1901 – March 23, 1987) was an American businessman, broadcasting executive and labor lawyer. He is best known for having defended striking workers during the Auto-Lite Strike in 1934 and for successfully resisting the federal government's attempt to strip him of his broadcasting licenses during the McCarthy era.

Lamb was born to British-born Clarence and Mary (Gross) Lamb in 1901 in Toledo, Ohio. He was one of ten children. Clarence Lamb was a commercial fisherman on Lake Erie, and Mary Lamb a housekeeper.

Lamb entered Dartmouth College in 1920. He received a juris doctor degree from Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University) in 1927. He was admitted to the Ohio bar the same year.

In 1928, he became assistant counsel for the city of Toledo. He quit public life in 1929 and opened a private practice.

In 1934, Lamb turned from corporate to labor law after workers at the Auto-Lite auto parts manufacturer asked him to represent them during the Auto-Lite Strike. "I knew it would finish me with the corporations I represented, but those workers were in the right and I took their case." Lamb became deeply involved in the negotiations which ended the violent Auto-Lite strike, and helped to successfully negotiate a collective bargaining agreement.

Lamb remained active in labor law through the 1930s and 1940s, representing more than 75 unions. He was jailed several times for contempt of court during labor union strikes. Other notable instances where Lamb represented workers were the "onion fields strike" in McGuffey, Ohio, in 1934; the Little Steel Strike in Ohio in 1937; the shoe workers' strike in Portsmouth, Ohio, in 1937; and the strike against the U.S. Gypsum Company in Port Clinton, Ohio, in 1938. During the shoe workers' strike, corporate attorneys initiated disbarment proceedings against Lamb for his aggressive defense of trade union members. The disbarment proceeding was unsuccessful.

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