Lane Kirkland
Lane Kirkland | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Joseph Lane Kirkland March 12, 1922 |
| Died | August 14, 1999(aged 77) |
| Occupation | Labor leader |
| Political party | Democratic |
Joseph Lane Kirkland(March 12, 1922 – August 14, 1999) was an Americanlabor unionleader who served as President of theAFL–CIOfrom 1979 to 1995.
Life and career[edit]
Kirkland was born inCamden, South Carolina,the son of Louise Beardsley (Richardson) and Randolph Withers Kirkland.[1]He rose over his career to head the 16-million-member American labor movement.[2]
In 1941, Kirkland entered theUnited States Merchant Marine Academy,graduated 1942, and became adeck officeron U.S. merchant ships duringWorld War II.After the war, he worked in the Research Department of the AFL. He received a B.S. degree from theEdmund A. Walsh School of Foreign ServiceatGeorgetown University.
Kirkland married Edith Draper Hollyday in June 1944, with whom he had five daughters.
A year after theirdivorcein 1972, he married thePrague-born Irena Neumann (1925–2007).[3]AnAuschwitzsurvivor, Neumann had previously been married to film producerHenry T. Weinstein,who had directedMarilyn Monroe's final unfinished picture. The couple had been close to Monroe during the last months of her life.
From 1979 to 1995 Kirkland was president of theAmerican Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations(AFL–CIO). During his tenure, union membership in the United States declined precipitously. The unions suffered some of their most serious defeats, including the 1981air traffic controllers' strikeand the1985–1986 Hormel strike.He also served on theFederal Prison Industries,Incorporated (FPI)[4]board from 1980-1988, representing Labor[5]during FPI's growth years.[6]On the international front, Kirkland's support of theSolidaritymovement inPolandcontributed to the decline ofcommunism.According to Michael Szporer inSolidarity: The Great Workers Strike of 1980,[7]American Unions under the leadership of Lane Kirkland contributed $150,000 shortly after the successful Solidarity Strike, as early as September 1980. At the time, the Carter administration, including its two prominent Polish Americans,Zbigniew BrzezinskiandEd Muskieadvised against such aid fearing Soviet reaction. Kirkland boldly took the initiative persuadingZbigniew Brzezinskiof the wisdom of supporting the Solidarity movement. In all U.S. union support of Solidarity far exceeded its European counterparts. Solidarity aid was part of Lane Kirkland's internationalist vision for the labor movement and the building of the global consensus on human rights. After the changes in Eastern Europe, Kirkland became a mentor for many prominent labor leaders who saw him as a visionary and visited him in his office at theGeorge Meany Center.He befriendedLech Walesaas well asMarian Krzaklewskiwho replaced Lech Walesa at the helm of Solidarity. Kirkland was awarded posthumously with the highest Polish award, theOrder of the White Eagle.[8]The Polish American Freedom Foundation has established a grant in Lane Kirkland's honor, and his union, theInternational Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots,has established the non-profitCaptain Richard Phillips-Lane Kirkland Maritime Trust[9]partly in his memory.
His best remembered quotation is:
If hard work were such a wonderful thing, surely the rich would have kept it all to themselves.
On November 13, 1989, Kirkland was presented with thePresidential Citizens Medalby PresidentBush.
In 1994, Kirkland was awarded thePresidential Medal of Freedomby PresidentClinton.
In 1999, Lane Kirkland was awarded the Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom.[10]
Lane Kirkland died inWashington, D.C.,age 77, from complications ofcancer.
Notes[edit]
- ^"Partial genealogy of the Kirklanda of South Carolina"(PDF).politicalfamilytree.com.Retrieved13 August2021.
- ^Buhle, Paul.Taking Care of Business: Samuel Gompers, George Meany, Lane Kirkland, and the Tragedy of American Labor.New York City: Monthly Review Press, 1999.ISBN1-58367-003-3
- ^Puddington, Arch (2005).Lane Kirkland: Champion of American labor.Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley and Sons.ISBN0-471-41694-0.
- ^"UNICOR Home Page".www.unicor.gov.Retrieved2021-02-26.
- ^"UNICOR Online | About UNICOR | History | Appendices".Archived fromthe originalon 2009-05-09.Retrieved2012-12-29.
- ^"Archived copy"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2012-10-10.Retrieved2012-12-29.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^Szporer, Michael (2012).Solidarity: The Great Workers Strike of 1980.Lexington Books.ISBN978-0739174876.
- ^"U.S. Department of Labor - Labor Hall of Fame - Lane Kirkland".Archived fromthe originalon 2009-05-10.Retrieved2009-06-17.
- ^"Captain Phillips Trust".
- ^Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom
References[edit]
- Puddington, Arch (2005).Lane Kirkland: Champion of American labor.Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley and Sons.ISBN0-471-41694-0.
External links[edit]
- American Center for International Labor Solidarity,formerly the International Affairs Department of the AFL–CIO
- Lane Kirkland: The AFL–CIO's last cold warriorby Jim Smith
- Freedom's Labors: Lane Kirkland worked for more than his unionby Fred Siegel.Wall Street Journal.OpinionJournal.com. Tuesday, March 8, 2005. Accessed April 3, 2005.
- Lane Kirkland papersat theUniversity of Maryland libraries
- AppearancesonC-SPAN
- The American Presidency Project
- Lane Kirkland (1922–1999)AFL–CIO history page
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1922 births
- 1999 deaths
- American sailors
- Presidents of the AFL–CIO
- Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni
- People from Camden, South Carolina
- United States Merchant Marine Academy alumni
- 20th-century American politicians
- Deaths from cancer in Washington, D.C.
- Presidential Citizens Medal recipients
- Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
- United States Merchant Mariners of World War II
- Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)