John L. Lewis
| John L. Lewis | |
|---|---|
Lewis at the United States Capitol in 1922
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| 9th President of the United Mine Workers | |
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In office 1919–1960 |
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| Preceded by | Frank Hayes |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Kennedy |
| 1st President of the Congress of Industrial Organizations | |
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In office 1936–1940 |
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| Preceded by | new organization |
| Succeeded by | Philip Murray |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Llewellyn Lewis February 12, 1880 Cleveland, Lucas County, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | June 11, 1969 (aged 89) Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Myrta E. Bell (m. 1907; d. 1942) |
| Occupation | Miner, labor leader |
John Llewellyn Lewis (February 12, 1880 – June 11, 1969) was an American leader of organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) from 1920 to 1960. A major player in the history of coal mining, he was the driving force behind the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), which established the United Steel Workers of America and helped organize millions of other industrial workers in the 1930s. After resigning as head of the CIO in 1941, he took the Mine Workers out of the CIO in 1942 and in 1944 took the union into the American Federation of Labor (AFL).
A leading liberal, he played a major role in helping Franklin D. Roosevelt win a landslide in 1936, but as an isolationist broke with Roosevelt in 1940 on FDR's anti-Nazi foreign policy. Lewis was a brutally effective and aggressive fighter and strike leader who gained high wages for his membership while steamrolling over his opponents, including the United States government. Lewis was one of the most controversial and innovative leaders in the history of labor, gaining credit for building the industrial unions of the CIO into a political and economic powerhouse to rival the AFL, yet was widely hated by calling for nationwide coal strikes which critics believed damaging to the American economy and war effort. His massive leonine head, forest-like eyebrows, firmly set jaw, powerful voice and ever-present scowl thrilled his supporters, angered his enemies, and delighted cartoonists. Coal miners for 40 years hailed him as their leader, whom they credited with bringing high wages, pensions and medical benefits.
Lewis was born in or near Cleveland, Lucas County, Iowa (distinct from the present township of Cleveland in Davis County) to Thomas H. Lewis and Ann Watkins Lewis, both of whom had immigrated from Llangurig, Wales. Cleveland was a company town built around a coal mine one mile east of Lucas. His mother and grandparents were members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), and the boy adopted the church's views regarding alcohol and sexual propriety, as well as its belief in a just social order that favored the poor. While his grandfather was an RLDS pastor and Lewis periodically donated to his local RLDS church for the rest of his life, there is no definite evidence that he formally joined the Midwestern Mormon denomination.
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