Mechanics Educational Society of America

Last updated
Mechanics Educational Society of America
Merged into Congress of Industrial Organizations
Founded1933
Location
Key people
 Matthew Smith, Bert Cochran
Affiliations Confederated Unions of America

The Mechanics Educational Society of America (MESA) was an independent trade union of tool-and-die-makers. First active in the automobile industry of greater Detroit, Michigan, MESA was founded in 1933 and was "the first union to effectively establish itself in what had been a traditionally open shop strong, Detroit's mass production automobile industry." [1] MESA's general secretary was English immigrant Matthew Smith.

Contents

Origins

The Mechanics Educational Society of America was founded by disgruntled members of the International Association of Machinists as an educational society. However, radical transplants from the United Kingdom like Smith, Frank McCracken, and John Anderson recognized the potential of the group and pushed for a full-fledged union. In June 1933, the U.S. Congress passed the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 which protected the collective bargaining rights of unions. A month later, MESA began an organizing drive in Detroit, Pontiac, Michigan, and Flint, Michigan which increased membership to approximately 5,000. [2]

Leading members

Longtime national secretary Matthew Smith, who had been active in the Amalgamated Engineering Union in England, refused to obtain U.S. citizenship, telling a U.S. Congress subcommittee: "I'm an internationalist, a citizen of the human race." [3] Another prominent leader was Trotskyist Bert Cochran, who was a district organizer for MESA during the 1930s and 1940s. [4] However, Cochran led several MESA locals out of MESA and into the UAW. [5]

Membership and Locals

Membership in 1944 was approximately 42,000. [6] By 1935, the union had expanded out of Detroit into other cities with a significant amount of industrial workers, including Rome, New York, [7] Flint, Michigan, Toledo, Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio, [8] Defiance, Ohio and the Connecticut cities of Torrington, New Haven, and Bridgeport. [9]

Federation and World War II

In July 1938, MESA rejected an invitation to merge with the recently-organized Congress of Industrial Organizations, citing "fundamental differences in policy" while also arguing the CIO's established union in the auto-industry, United Autoworkers (UAW), was run by a "quasi-dictatorship." [10] In 1942, MESA became a founding member of the Confederated Unions of America. A 1944 article in the American Economic Review described the group as "...a class-conscious group far to the left of the AFL internationals and even most of the CIO affiliates." [6]

MESA refused to adopt a no-strike pledge that other unions had agreed to during World War II. As such, it was targeted by the federal government via the National Labor Relations Board; in jurisdictional disputes with the CIO, the government consistently decided against MESA. In response, MESA's membership went on strike. In November 1944, United States Under Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson wrote to MESA's Smith saying "Your strikes...represent no honest grievance...You are striking our fighting men from the rear. The War Department insists these strike be stopped at once." MESA refused to end the strike. [3]

Taft-Hartley and CIO Affiliation

In 1947, the Taft–Hartley Act became law. One of its provisions required union leaders to file affidavits with the United States Department of Labor declaring that they were not supporters of the Communist Party and had no relationship with any organization seeking the "overthrow of the United States government by force or by any illegal or unconstitutional means", to which MESA acquiesced. The prevailing Red Scare, which began in 1947 and coincided with a period of McCarthyism, put a damper on popular support for radical unions like the Mechanics. In 1954, MESA absorbed the Metal and Machinery Workers Industrial Union (MMWIU), which had previously been affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the World. In December of that year, MESA and its 12,000 members affiliated with the former jurisdictional opponent in the CIO. [8] A year later, in December 1955, the CIO, with the Mechanics as an affiliate, merged with the AFL to form the AFL–CIO.

Related Research Articles

Flint sit-down strike 1936–37 labor strike at the General Motors plant in Flint, Michigan

The 1936–1937 Flint sit-down strike, also known as the General Motors sit-down strike, the great GM sit-down strike, and so on, was a sitdown strike at the General Motors plant in Flint, Michigan, United States. It changed the United Automobile Workers (UAW) from a collection of isolated local unions on the fringes of the industry into a major labor union, and led to the unionization of the domestic automobile industry.

United Auto Workers Labor union in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States and Canada. It was founded as part of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in the 1930s and grew rapidly from 1936 to the 1950s. The union played a major role in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party under the leadership of Walter Reuther. It was known for gaining high wages and pensions for auto workers, but it was unable to unionize auto plants built by foreign-based car makers in the South after the 1970s, and it went into a steady decline in membership; reasons for this included increased automation, decreased use of labor, movements of manufacturing, and increased globalization.

The Communist Party USA and its allies played an important role in the United States labor movement, particularly in the 1930s and 1940s, but never succeeded, with rare exceptions, either in bringing the labor movement around to its agenda of fighting for socialism and full workers' control over industry, or in converting their influence in any particular union into membership gains for the Party. The CP has had only negligible influence in labor since its supporters' defeat in internal union political battles in the aftermath of World War II and the CIO's expulsion of the unions in which they held the most influence in 1950. After the expulsion of the Communists, organized labor in the United States began a steady decline.

The Communist Party (CP) and its allies played a role in the United States labor movement, particularly in the 1930s and 1940s, but never succeeded, with rare exceptions, either in bringing the labor movement around to its agenda or in converting their influence in any particular union into membership gains for the Party. The CP has had only negligible influence in labor since its supporters' defeat in internal union political battles in the aftermath of World War II and the CIO's (CIO) expulsion of unions in which the party held the most influence in 1950.

American Federation of Labor Labor organization

The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States founded in Columbus, Ohio, in December 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor union. Samuel Gompers was elected the full-time president at its founding convention and reelected every year, except one, until his death in 1924. He became the major spokesperson for the union movement.

Labor history of the United States Aspect of history

The labor history of the United States describes the history of organized labor, US labor law, and more general history of working people, in the United States. Beginning in the 1930s, unions became important allies of the Democratic Party.

R. J. Thomas American trade unionist

Roland Jay Thomas, also known as R. J. Thomas, was born in East Palestine, Ohio. He grew up in eastern Ohio and attended the College of Wooster for two years. The need to help support his family caused him to leave college and go to work. In 1923, he moved to Detroit, where he worked in a number of automobile plants.

Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union Former trade union of the United States

The Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union (OCAW) was a trade union in the United States which existed between 1917 and 1999. At the time of its dissolution and merger, the International represented 80,000 workers and was affiliated with the AFL–CIO.

The National Federation of Independent Unions was a group of independent labor unions not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor (AFL) or the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). It included a variety of unions, including the Mechanics' Educational Society of America (MESA), the United Brotherhood of Welders, Cutters and Helpers of America, the Western Electric Independent Labor Federation, and the National Brotherhood of Packinghouse Workers. Formed in 1942, it sought to create a voice in Washington for independent unionism, particularly on the National War Labor Board (NWLB).

The Trade Union Unity League (TUUL) was an industrial union umbrella organization under the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) between 1929 and 1935. The group was an American affiliate of the Red International of Labor Unions. The formation of the TUUL was the result of the Communist International's Third Period policy, which ordered affiliated Communist Parties to pursue a strategy of dual unionism and thus abandon attempts at "bore from within" existing trade unions. TUUL unions aimed to organize semi-skilled and unskilled workers, many whom had been expelled from the American Federation of Labor (AFL). According to the TUUL, the AFL was "an instrument of the capitalists for the exploitation of the workers." Thus, the TUUL was formed as an organization in opposition to the AFL."

Leon Bates (labor leader)

Leon E. Bates Sr. was an American labor union leader with the United Auto Workers union (UAW) from 1937 to 1964 when he retired as an "International Representative" of the UAW. He was one of the first African-American union organizers to work for the "UAW-CIO".

The Alliance for Labor Action (ALA) was an American and Canadian national trade union center which existed from July 1968 until January 1972. Its two main members were the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, although it had some smaller affiliates.

Olga M. Madar was the first woman to serve on the United Auto Workers (UAW) International Executive Board.

Wyndham Mortimer

Wyndham Mortimer was an American trade union organizer and functionary active in the United Auto Workers union (UAW). Mortimer is best remembered as a key union organizer in the 1937 Flint Sit-Down Strike. Mortimer was the First Vice President of the UAW from 1936 to 1939. A member of the Communist Party USA from about 1932, Mortimer was a critic of the efforts of the conservative American Federation of Labor to control the union and was a leader of a so-called "Unity Caucus" which led the UAW to join forces with the more aggressive Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).

The tool and die strike of 1939, also known as the "strategy strike", was an ultimately successful attempt by the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) to be recognized as the sole representative for General Motors workers. In addition to representation rights, the UAW, working jointly with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), sought to resolve existing grievances of skilled workers.

Congress of Industrial Organizations North American federation of labor unions from 1935 to 1955

The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in 1935 as a committee within the American Federation of Labor (AFL) by John L. Lewis, a member of the United Mine Workers (UMW), and called the Committee for Industrial Organization, its name was changed in 1938 when it broke away from the American Federation of Labor. It also changed names because it was not successful with organizing unskilled workers within the AFL.

The Chrysler Auto Strike began in October 1939 in Detroit, Michigan, as a struggle between the Chrysler Auto manufacturer and The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Automobile Workers (UAW). The strike began in October 1939 in Detroit, Michigan.

The Metal and Machinery Workers Industrial Union No. 440 (MMWIU) was a labor union in the United States which existed from 1907 to 1950. It organized workers in the manufacturing industry and was affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).

Matthew Smith was a labor activist in England and the United States. In 1933, he helped found the Mechanics Educational Society of America (MESA), which he served as national secretary of the group from 1933 until his death in 1958. Though he resided in the United States from 1926 until his death, he refused to apply for the U.S. citizenship and instead saw himself as "...an internationalist, a citizen of the human race."

References

  1. ↑ Dahlheimer, Harry (1951). A history of the Mechanics Educational Society of America in Detroit, from its inception in 1933 through 1937. Wayne University Press. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  2. ↑ Johnson, Christopher H. (2018). Maurice Sugar: Law, Labor, and the Left in Detroit, 1912-1950. Wayne State University Press. p. 138. ISBN   978-0-8143-4004-2.
  3. 1 2 Hartfield, James (2012). Unpatriotic History of the Second World War. John Hunt Publishing. p. 243. ISBN   978-1-78099-379-9 . Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  4. ↑ "Biographical Sketch" (PDF). Marxists Internet Archive . Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  5. ↑ Dollinger, Sol; Dollinger, Genora Johnson (2000). Not Automatic: Women and the Left in the Forging of the Auto Workers' Union. NYU Press. p. 32. ISBN   978-1-58367-018-7 . Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  6. 1 2 Klemm, Mary (1944). "The Rise of Independent Unionism and the Decline of Labor Oligopoly". The American Economic Review. 34 (1): 84. ISSN   0002-8282. JSTOR   1813722.
  7. ↑ "Guide to the Mechanics Educational Society of America, Rome City Central (Rome, N.Y.) Records". rmc.library.cornell.edu. Cornell University. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  8. 1 2 "MECHANICS EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History | Case Western Reserve University. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  9. ↑ Legislative History of the National Labor Relations Act, 1935. National Labor Relations Board. 1935. pp. 2637–2639. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  10. ↑ "Rejects Affiliation With C. I. O.". New York Times. Associated Press. 16 July 1938.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.