William Green was an American trade union leader. Green is best remembered for serving as the President of the American Federation of Labor from 1924 to 1952. Green was a strong supporter for labor-management cooperation and was in the frontlines on wage and benefit protections and industrial unionism legislation.
Background
William Green was born March 3, 1873 in Coshocton, Ohio, the son of Welsh immigrants. His father was a coal miner. He left school at the age of sixteen to work in the coal mines and early in life developed an interest in the labor movement.
Career
In 1914 he became fourth vice-president of the American Federation of Labor and, following the death of Samuel Gompers in 1924, was elected to succeed him as president. John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers, was one of Green's staunchest supporters and was largely responsible for Green's election to the presidency of the A. F. of L., but in 1935 a split occurred over the question of industrial versus craft unionism. Green insisted on adherence to the latter system. Lewis then formed a separate organization consisting of eight of the largest unions now known as the Congress of Industrial Organizations (C.I.O.), and Green suspended their membership in the A. F. of L. A long battle ensued in which Green continued to reject industrial unionism. He opposed the National Labor Relations Board, but pledged cooperation and cessation of hostilities against the C.I.O. during World War II.
In 1947 he began an unsuccessful fight against the Taft-Hartley law. In the 1952 elections, the A. F. of L. broke a tradition of nonpartisanship by endorsing Adlai E. Stevenson.