Lane Kirkland

Arch Puddington

Description

The untold story of Lane Kirkland, labor leader and advocate for the American worker

"This book tells the story of one of the true heroes of the struggle for freedom from totalitarianism. Through the skillful use of the power he exercised as the leader of American labor, and through his own unshakeable commitment, Lane Kirkland played a crucial role in our peaceful revolution in Poland. He did much more. Throughout the world, millions of free people owe him a debt of gratitude for his service to the democratic cause. I am gratified that the full account of his indispensable contribution to freedom has finally been written."
--Lech Walesa, founder of Solidarity and former president of Poland

"Lane Kirkland believed in freedom and would fight for his beliefs. Here is a portrait of his tough, principled, and consistent brand of leadership. We can admire him and learn from him."
--George P. Schultz

"I knew Lane Kirkland well. While he may not always have been able to secure the influence of the American labor movement he represented, he always supported the interests of the workers with great dedication and showed willingness to compromise. . . . [With] this biography, the man and his work will always be remembered. The book will also find considerable interest in Germany."
--Helmut Schmidt, former chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (1974?1982)

"Lane was a crusader for freedom and I can testify on the basis of personal involvement that his role in the defeat of Stalinism was second to none."
--Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Adviser to President Jimmy Carter
Dedication.

Acknowledgements.

Prologue: "All Sinners Belong in the Church"

1. Southern Roots.

2. Education of a Trade Unionist.

3. Expanding Horizons.

4. Captain of the Ship.

5. Labor Versus Reagan.

6. All Out for Fritz.

7. Solidarity Forever.

8. Central America: Fighting the Good Fight at Home and Abroad.

9. Mr. Democracy.

10. Labor Unity; Labor Pains.

11. Civil Rights: Keeping the Faith.

12. Two Cheers for Clinton.

13. The Coup.

14. Freedom's Five Star General.

Index.

Sujets

• 20th Century
• Historical
• HISTORY
• POLITICAL SCIENCE
• Lettres et linguistique
• Biography
• American politics
• Cold War
• History of the United States
• Politics of the United States
• Wiley
• United States
• Autobiography
• Guerre froide
• New Deal

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 02 mai 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470356746
• Langue: English

Extrait

LANE KIRKLAND
CHAMPION OF AMERICAN LABOR
A RCH P UDDINGTON
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright 2005 by Arch Puddington. All rights reserved
Illustration credits: page 155 courtesy of Katherine Moore; pages 156 (bottom) and 157 (top) courtesy of the White House; page 160 (top) courtesy of the Washington Post ; page 160 (bottom) courtesy of United Mine Workers of America; pages 156 (top), 157 (bottom), 158-159 , and 161-162 courtesy of George Meany Memorial Archives.
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
Design and composition by Navta Associates, Inc.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com . Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone].
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and the author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Puddington, Arch.
Lane Kirkland : champion of American labor / Arch Puddington.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-471-41694-0 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Kirkland, Lane. 2. Labor leaders-United States-Biography. 3. Labor unions-United States-Officials and employees-Biography. 4. AFL-CIO-History-20th century. 5. Labor unions-United States-History-20th century. 6. Labor union democracy-United States. 7. Labor unions-United States-Political activity-History-20th century. 8. Labor movement-United States-History-20th century. I. Title.

HD6509.K57K57 2005
331.88 092-dc22
2004008489
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Prologue: All Sinners Belong in the Church
1 Southern Roots
2 Education of a Trade Unionist
3 Expanding Horizons
4 Captain of the Ship
5 Labor Versus Reagan
6 All Out for Fritz
7 Solidarity Forever
8 Central America: Fighting the Good Fight at Home and Abroad
9 Mr. Democracy
10 Labor Unity; Labor Pains
11 Civil Rights: Keeping the Faith
12 Two Cheers for Clinton
13 The Coup
14 Freedom s Five-Star General
Notes
Index
Photographs
To Nick
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Several months after Lane Kirkland died in 1999, his widow, Irena, asked if I would be interested in writing Lane s biography. My response was immediate and enthusiastic. Years earlier, I had worked for several organizations on the periphery of the labor movement, including the A. Philip Randolph Institute, an organization founded by civil rights leader Bayard Rustin. I also served as executive director of the League for Industrial Democracy, a think tank that focused on issues of concern to organized labor. Aside from these experiences, I had a long-term intellectual interest in the role that American trade unionists had played in the Cold War struggle against Communism as well as in labor s role in the creation of the movement to promote freedom around the world. I was, in addition, an admirer of the men who made American labor into a powerful voice for working people and a unique force for global democracy. Finally, I was convinced that Kirkland s role as a labor leader and a democracy advocate had been insufficiently understood and appreciated.
First and foremost, I owe Irena Kirkland deep gratitude not only for asking me to undertake this book, but also for sharing her penetrating insights into her husband s career and character. Irena is a formidable woman in her own right, whose life story and achievements could easily be the subject of a fascinating biography.
Several of Lane s close colleagues from the AFL-CIO were particularly generous in discussing his stewardship as president and in providing an assessment of organized labor s history over the past half century. Most invaluable here are Tom Donahue, who served as secretary-treasurer during Kirkland s years as president and then, for too short a time, as president of the AFL-CIO after Kirkland s retirement, and Ken Young, Kirkland s executive assistant during most of his presidency. Other important sources of material on Kirkland s years in labor were Rex Hardesty, Jack Joyce, David St. John, Jim Baker, and Rachelle Horowitz. I am also indebted to Dick Wilson, who gave extensive interviews and provided me with important material concerning labor s work in Poland and other Communist countries during Kirkland s presidency.
Carl and Laurie Gershman were crucial sources of support and friendship during the research and writing. Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), also provided important insights into Kirkland s contribution to the modern democracy movement.
Much thanks to Lane s brother, Rannie, for his recollections of their youth in South Carolina, for family histories and other material about the Kirkland family, and for a tour of historic Camden, where Lane spent his childhood. A number of Lane s other relatives were also generous in their assistance, including his brother, Tom; his sister, Katharine Kirkland Crockett; and his daughters, Luci Kirkland Schoenfeld and Rikki Kirkland Condon. I am also indebted to Lane s daughter Katherine Kirkland Moore for her invaluable assistance in providing photographs of the Kirkland family.
During the course of this project, I continued my affiliation with Freedom House, an organization that shares Kirkland s passion for democracy and where Kirkland served as a trustee. I owe a debt of appreciation to Jennifer Windsor, Freedom House s executive director, for her support and to Adrian Karatnycky, who had served as an aide to Kirkland on international affairs matters before he joined Freedom House. Adrian was an invaluable source of information and insight about labor s foreign policy, especially its project to assist Poland s Solidarity trade union. A number of Freedom House staff and interns provided important research and administrative assistance. They include Amy Phillips, Mark Rosenberg, Ben Isaac, Kate Abrey, Romolo Isaia, and Orysia Lutsevych.
In the course of my research, I had the good fortune to interview a number of Solidarity s key leaders from its early years and its period of underground existence. My special thanks to Irena Lasota and Eric Chenoweth for their insights on the Solidarity period. John Kubiniec, the director of Freedom House s Central European office, provided invaluable assistance in arranging the interviews that I conducted with Solidarity veterans during a trip to Poland in 2002. I am also grateful to Lukasz Michalski, who served as my interpreter in Poland.
I could not have written the chapter on Central America without the recollections of David Jessup, who was a key member of the AFL-CIO s team involved in Nicaragua and El Salvador during the 1980s. Dave also provided crucial assistance by giving me access to the voluminous files he maintained concerning labor s involvement in Central America.
Kerry Candaele provided important assistance in the archives of the Ronald Reagan presidential library in Simi Valley, California.
The staff of the George Meany Center for Labor Education went out of their way to assist me in research into Lane s personal files. Particular thanks go to Lynda DeLoach and Robert Reynolds. I am also grateful to Kathrine Stevens, my assistant, who helped me sift through documents at the Meany Center.
The project would not have been possible without the financial help of the Albert Shanker Institute. My thanks to Sandra Feldman, president of the American Federation of Teachers, and to Eugenia Kemble, director of the Shanker Institute, for their confidence in this project. I am equally indebted to Bob Georgine, who gave the project strong support during his term as president of the Union Labor Life Insurance Company. Others who helped this project financially include the ILGWU Twentieth Century Heritage Fund, the Atran Foundation, the Bayard Rustin Fund, and Steve Forbes.
Much thanks to Martha Kaufman Amitay, my agent, whose hard work and, especially, patience are much appreciated. I am similarly indebted to Hana Lane, my editor at John Wiley Sons, for stylistic insights and for her faith in the project.
I could never have finished this book without the love and support of my wife, Margaret. Margaret s support was critical during several difficult periods. I say without exaggeration that I could not have completed the book without her.
Prologue
ALL SINNERS BELONG IN THE CHURCH
Lane Kirkland approached the podium at the sheraton Washington Hotel. It was N