280:: "Zander's supporters attempted to prevent Wurf's backers from reading results of the election into the convention records. The struggle from the floor, with Zander guiding the fight from the podium continued into the afternoon session." COUR won ten out of eleven seats on the executive board. After the announcement of his narrow victory, Wurf surrounded himself with bodyguards and sent three people to the union office in Washington to change the locks. He also moved to designate Zander 'president emeritus' and provide him with a full salary and expenses until retirement age.
324:
through trusteeships, and required that union vice presidents be elected locally and not paid members of the "international" office. The convention did increase the powers of the union president, authorizing him or her to "employ, terminate, fix the compensation and expenses, and direct the activities of such office staff, administrative assistants, technical and professional assistants, field staff, organizers, and representatives as are required to carry out effectively the functions of his office."
269:
benefited from rules limiting any one Local's representation to five delegates (with one delegate per hundred members), rules which substantially decreased the power of larger urban Locals. Wurf himself did not campaign actively in 1962, although he did receive a nomination for president. Even so, the final vote was close (1490 to 1085). Zander, surprised by the result, subsequently lost face at the convention during unsuccessful efforts to increase union taxes on the Locals.
323:
In 1965, Wurf called a constitutional convention for AFSCME in
Washington. The convention passed amendments that increased representation from large Locals (allowing them more than five delegates, though only one for every additional thousand), decreased the central office's ability to control Locals
295:
When Wurf arrived at AFSCME offices at 815 Mount Vernon Place in
Washington, they were trashed inside and outside. One floor of the building had been leased to a pizza bakery. After examining the account books, Wurf also realized that AFSCME was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. Wurf sold the
222:
hired Wurf to the union in 1947, after it became clear that Wurf was not welcome in HERE. At this point, AFSCME was not very powerful, and Wurf recalled being treated with contempt by other local organizers. He was generally disillusioned by his union's apparent capitulation to the anti-communism of
535:
Running for re-election in 1961, Mayor Wagner was opposed by the old-line party bosses of all five boroughs. He turned to a new force, the public-sector unions, as his political machine. His re-election resonated at the
Kennedy White House, which had won office by only the narrowest of margins in
268:
Wurf and others unhappy with Zander's leadership formed COUR, the
Committee on Union Responsibility, as an opposition party. The organization gained popularity, and received a number of votes in 1962 even though hundreds of "international" delegates were directly controlled by Zander. Zander also
272:
Over the next two years, Zander tried to expel Wurf and other members of COUR from the union. This proved difficult due to their popular support. Zander and his supporters also published negative stories about Wurf in the union's newspaper, denying COUR access to the mailing list for its
210:(HERE), in 1943. Local 448 was becoming powerful when HERE leadership incorporated it into Local 325 (Cooks, Countermen, Subdispensers, Cashiers and Assistants), then fired Wurf. Wurf believed that hostile union leaders caused him to be systematically denied work in the following years.
377:
in April 1968. "Let us never forget that Martin Luther King, on a mission for us, was killed in this city. He helped bring us this victory," Wurf later said. Although Wurf did not back the strike initially, due to the violent atmosphere, he supported it after it went into effect.
868:
AFSCME's
International President Jerry Wurf defended the action of the strikers in an editorial in the Sun . Wurf argued that without the strikes of the city's blue collar workers for 15 days and of the police for 5 days, there would not have been the negotiated pay
724:
After Wurf's election as president in 1964, an insurgent group—which included
Catholics, Jews, Puerto Ricans, and African Americans—took over. AFSCME integrated its staff, no longer organized white and black workers separately, and began to build a solid core of
838:
It was the 48-year-old Jerry Wurf who, as national president of the
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employes, AFL–CIO, actually gave the signal for the garbage strike of 1,300 predominantly Negro garbagemen in Memphis last Feb. 12, Lincoln's
536:
1960. Ten weeks after Wagner's victory, Kennedy looked to mobilize public-sector workers as a new source of
Democratic Party political support. In mid-January 1962, he issued Executive Order 10988, which gave federal workers the right to organize in unions.
1062:
808:
Bargaining ended Sunday night after Jerry Wurf, international president of the AFSCME, claimed he had been assaulted by an attorney for the city and accused the city of using tape recorders and plainclothes policemen to harass the
778:
by two union leaders. Jerry Wurf, international president of the State, County, and
Municipal Employes, sent a telegram to Wagner late Monday asking the mayor to meet with a committee to consider ways of resolving the
234:. This upset various established local union leaders, who in many cases tried to leave AFSCME for other unions. Nevertheless, District Council 37 achieved some concrete victories for workers under Wurf's leadership.
253:, which recognized the right of federal employees to collective bargaining. ) District Council 37 won many of the ensuing elections, making it into one of the large public employee local unions in the world.
970:
131:
1057:
660:
Wurf subsequently learned that the union had funneled $ 878,000 to Latin
America from 1957-1964 (other sources give varying amounts, but all are in the million dollar range).
1072:
245:, and providing for elections which could establish these unions as exclusive bargaining agents for the workers in various city agencies. (This order was a model for
774:
Prospects appeared bleak today for an immediate settlement of the eight-day-old strike of some 7,000 city Welfare Department employes , despite new appeals to Mayor
260:. He also questioned Zander's growing authority over individual Locals through trusteeships. After the union's 1958 convention, he decided to seek its presidency.
207:
335:
Through energetic organizing and aggressive bargaining, AFSCME grew rapidly under his leadership from about 220,000 members to just over one million in 1981.
276:
In 1964, Wurf unseated Zander by just 21 votes, despite Zander's active use of his incumbent position to control the election procedurally. According to the
1082:
672:
187:
740:
1077:
374:
147:
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Although not welcoming the strike, the AFSCME national office took it very seriously. By Monday night, it had an interracial team in Memphis...
600:
1052:
913:
717:
391:
633:""When you're handed money on a platter, it's very hard to say, 'where are you getting this?'": The AFL-CIO, the CIA, and British Guiana"
1067:
561:
471:
151:
429:
143:
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493:
362:
300:
183:
182:, he was inclined towards radicalism by his family's poverty and by communists he met. For some time he joined the
406:
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139:
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230:
On the brink of quitting his job in 1952, Wurf was appointed, again by Zander, to the presidency of New York's
124:
339:
171:
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791:
757:
519:
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135:
619:
His successor in the American union, Jerry Wurf, disapproved of the subsidy and canceled it, Zander said.
574:
190:. He was a critical of both groups, but preferred the YPSL due to his dislike of Soviet totalitarianism.
1003:
358:
250:
1047:
1042:
238:
283:
Wurf became the first challenger to defeat a president of a major AFL-CIO international union since
206:
by working cafeterias and organizing the workers, forming Local 448, Food and Cashiers Local of the
231:
199:
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53:
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Wurf's election in 1964 began an area of growth and racial inclusion for the union.
387:
346:
312:
224:
242:
127:
345:
Wurf was a frequent dissenter to the policies of the AFL-CIO and its president
338:
Wurf presided over strikes in New York (1965), Lansing (1966), Memphis (1968),
902:
Going down Jericho Road the Memphis strike, Martin Luther King's last campaign
706:
Going down Jericho Road the Memphis strike, Martin Luther King's last campaign
405:
Wurf's legacy as AFSCME President is documented in the AFSCME Archives at the
948:
Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs. Wayne State University.
942:
Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs. Wayne State University.
648:
17:
303:
program within AFSCME. This program funneled around a million dollars to
999:
138:, and was arrested multiple times for his activism, notably during the
945:
939:
256:
Wurf broke with Zander over his allegiances to the AFL–CIO and to the
202:
but dropped out to pursue radical organizing. He got his start in the
631:
Waters Jr., Robert Anthony; Daniels, Gordon Oliver (1 January 2006).
410:
167:
413:, 1959–1981, as well as many other AFSCME departmental collections.
1063:
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees people
741:"Jerry Wurf, Leader of Federation of Municipal Workers, Dies at 62"
175:
170:
immigrants (his father was a tailor and textile worker) from the
852:
299:
Also soon after arriving, Wurf discovered and ended an ongoing
241:
an executive order giving the city's workers the right to form
361:. He helped establish the first New York State chapter of the
971:
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
132:
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
365:(CORE) in the late 1940s. He was a close associate of
307:
between 1957 and 1964 for the purpose of supporting
946:
AFSCME Office of the President: Jerry Wurf Records.
110:
102:
92:
84:
65:
39:
32:
895:
699:
411:AFSCME Office of the President: Jerry Wurf Records
296:building and moved the union to a smaller office.
178:at the age of four. As a young man growing up in
134:(AFSCME) from 1964 to 1981. Wurf was a friend of
556:Washington, D.C.: Robert B. Luce, Inc., 1974.
208:Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union
457:
455:
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451:
449:
447:
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443:
441:
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8:
487:
485:
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735:
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1058:American people of Austrian-Jewish descent
951:
601:"Public Service Union Abroad Aided by CIA"
548:
546:
544:
520:"How Public Unions Took Taxpayers Hostage"
29:
1073:Members of the Socialist Party of America
708:(1 ed.). New York : Norton. p.
673:"Article V - The International President"
227:and to the desires of local politicians.
123:(May 18, 1919 – December 10, 1981) was a
935:Jerry Wurf, 1919-1981: A Short Biography
904:(1 ed.). New York: Norton. p.
552:Billings, Richard N. and Greenya, John.
146:" oratory at the strike, the day before
637:Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire
421:
27:American labor union leader (1919–1981)
402:succeeded him as president of AFSCME.
599:Harwood, Richard (23 February 1967).
492:Serrin, William (12 September 1982).
392:George Washington University Hospital
7:
369:, who was working in support of the
882:Jerry Wurf: Labor's Last Angry Man.
764:. Associated Press. 12 January 1965
466:(1 ed.). New York: Atheneum.
464:Jerry Wurf: Labor's Last Angry Man
186:; he subsequently left it for the
114:Sigmund and Lena (Tannenbaum) Wurf
25:
853:"The 1974 Police Officers Strike"
823:"Strike Reveals New Labor Leader"
357:Wurf was extremely active in the
940:Jerry & Mildred Wurf Papers.
884:New York: Atheneum, 1982, p. 56.
821:Riesel, Victor (20 April 1968).
798:. Associated Press. 18 July 1966
758:"Prospects Bleak in Welfare Row"
518:Siegel, Fred (25 January 2011).
96:Sylvia (Spinrad) Wurf (divorced)
701:"Struggles of the Working Poor"
237:In 1958, Wurf wrung from mayor
188:Young People's Socialist League
1083:Vice presidents of the AFL–CIO
1078:American democratic socialists
851:D'Adamo, Charles (Fall 2007).
1:
494:"A Leader for the Little Guy"
142:. He was present for King's "
1053:American trade union leaders
792:"Lansing Employes on Strike"
144:I've Been to the Mountaintop
130:leader and president of the
575:"Zander Ouster 'Agonizing'"
554:Power to the Public Worker.
462:Goulden, Joseph C. (1982).
363:Congress of Racial Equality
1099:
1068:People from Brighton Beach
894:Honey, Michael K. (2007).
698:Honey, Michael K. (2007).
214:AFSCME District Council 37
1017:
997:
987:
977:
967:
959:
954:
573:Golz, Earl (1 May 1964).
407:Walter P. Reuther Library
371:Memphis sanitation strike
319:Constitutional convention
140:Memphis sanitation strike
398:, on December 10, 1981.
897:"On Strike for Respect"
524:The Wall Street Journal
382:After AFSCME presidency
172:Austro-Hungarian Empire
649:10.3406/rbph.2006.5061
367:Martin Luther King Jr.
184:Young Communist League
136:Martin Luther King Jr.
106:Two daughters, one son
1004:Trades Union Congress
359:civil rights movement
353:Civil rights movement
291:Arrival in Washington
287:had done so in 1946.
251:Executive Order 10988
148:King was assassinated
98:Mildred (Kiefer) Wurf
955:Trade union offices
827:The Portsmouth Times
739:Robert D. McFadden,
239:Robert F. Wagner Jr.
166:in 1919. The son of
880:Joseph C. Goulden,
677:AFSCME Constitution
232:District Council 37
200:New York University
857:Indypendent Reader
796:Owosso Argus-Press
579:Milwaukee Sentinel
409:in Detroit as the
278:Milwaukee Sentinel
1031:
1030:
1018:Succeeded by
994:William J. Farson
978:Succeeded by
915:978-0-393-04339-6
747:11 December 1981.
719:978-0-393-04339-6
264:Election campaign
247:President Kennedy
218:AFSCME president
162:Wurf was born in
118:
117:
69:December 10, 1981
16:(Redirected from
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1002:delegate to the
988:Preceded by
960:Preceded by
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776:Robert F. Wagner
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643:(4): 1075–1099.
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396:Washington, D.C.
340:Baltimore (1974)
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198:He enrolled at
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929:External links
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679:. AFSCME. 1965
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400:Gerald McEntee
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309:Forbes Burnham
305:British Guiana
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285:Walter Reuther
273:distribution.
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204:labor movement
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180:Brighton Beach
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152:King's funeral
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860:. Retrieved
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388:heart attack
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375:assassinated
373:when he was
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347:George Meany
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88:Union leader
71:(1981-12-10)
50:May 18, 1919
1048:1981 deaths
1043:1919 births
725:organizers.
121:Jerome Wurf
34:Jerome Wurf
18:Jerome Wurf
1037:Categories
975:1964-1981
869:increases.
417:References
342:and more.
328:Presidency
158:Background
85:Occupation
46:1919-05-18
991:Paul Hall
839:Birthday.
683:10 August
111:Parent(s)
93:Spouse(s)
862:4 August
832:13 April
802:13 April
779:dispute.
768:13 April
654:4 August
613:4 August
584:13 April
529:4 August
503:4 August
103:Children
58:New York
1000:AFL-CIO
225:AFL–CIO
1010:With:
912:
809:union.
716:
560:
470:
430:"Home"
243:unions
168:Jewish
79:, U.S.
60:, U.S.
604:(PDF)
311:over
258:Mafia
176:polio
128:labor
910:ISBN
864:2012
834:2015
804:2015
770:2015
714:ISBN
685:2012
656:2012
615:2012
586:2015
558:ISBN
531:2012
505:2012
468:ISBN
223:the
194:HERE
125:U.S.
66:Died
40:Born
906:109
645:doi
394:in
390:at
301:CIA
249:'s
1039::
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908:.
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44:(
20:)
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