George Hardy (labor leader)
| George Hardy | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 15, 1911 North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Died | September 13, 1990 (aged 78) San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Union leader |
| Spouse(s) | Norma Mitchell Hardy (d. 1965), Cissy Hardy (d. 1990) |
| Children | Robert Thomas Hardy (d. 1955) Joan Hardy Twomey (d. 2000) |
| Parent(s) | Charles Hardy and Bertha Fitchett Hardy |
George Hardy (December 15, 1911 – September 13, 1990) was a Canadian-American labor leader who was president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) from 1971 to 1980. At the time of his death, SEIU had grown to become the fifth-largest affiliate of the AFL-CIO. Hardy was a vice president of the AFL-CIO from 1972 to 1980, and a member of its executive council. He was a former member of the Democratic National Committee and the California Democratic State Central Committee.
Hardy was born to Charles and Bertha (Fitchett) Hardy on December 15, 1911, in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Hardys moved to San Francisco, California, in the 1920s. Hardy and his family came to San Francisco from Canada working their way as migrant fruit pickers. George grew up on Linden Street in the working class Hayes Valley district of San Francisco. living next door to the Cheney Family. George married Norma Mitchell in San Francisco and had two children, Joan Marie Hardy and Robert Thomas Hardy. Robert was killed in a car accident in 1955 at the age of 18, returning from a high school graduation trip to Arizona. George credited Norma, the Mitchell Sisters (Rene Cheney d.1975, Lottie Andre d.1975 and Edna Peralta d.1988), best friend Ellis Cheney and so many "anonymous" janitors for the support and collaboration which fueled his great success and the growth of BSEIU (later SEIU) on the West Coast and throughout North America.
George's father, Charles (also known as "Pop"), was a janitor, and George became one, too. Pop Hardy joined Theater Janitors Local 9 of the Building Service Employees International Union (BSEIU) in 1926, and soon became an unpaid organizer for the union. Pop Hardy soon was elected president of the local as well as an International Vice President. Although the BSEIU was dominated by organized crime at the time, Charles Hardy was generally considered honest and a figurehead who was not part of the mob's inner circle on the board. In 1932, George Hardy also joined Local 9, the oldest Building Service Employees International Union local in California. The year he joined, he was elected the local's business agent. During the San Francisco General Strike of 1934, Hardy helped his father to organize service workers to support the strike, leading to the closure of restaurants, movie theaters, night clubs, and office buildings during the four-day strike.
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