Background
Davis was born in Pinsk, Russian Empire.
Davis was born in Pinsk, Russian Empire.
At the age of 15 he settled with his Russian-speaking family in Hartford, Connecticut, where he attended public schools and learned English.
In 1927 his family moved to New York City. After two years at Columbia University"s pharmacy school, he left to become a drug store clerk. In 1932 he founded Local 1199 of the Drug, Hospital, and Health Care Employees Union.
In fifty years as the head of the union, he built it into a powerful national and progressive force.
Martin Luther King referred to Davis"s organization as "my favorite union". Davis died in 1992 at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New New York
Two books about the union, Upheaval in the Quiet Zone and Not for Bread Alone examine the deep, almost patriarchal connection between Davis and Local 1199. A Manhattan city block on West 43rd Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, near the Local 1199 headquarters at 310 West 43rd Street, was named in his honor.