Matthew Woll
Encyclopedia
Matthew Woll was president of the International Photo-Engravers Union of North America
from 1906 to 1929, an American Federation of Labor
(AFL) vice president from 1919 to 1955 and an AFL-CIO
vice president from 1955 to 1956.
in 1880 to Michael and Janette Woll, the Roman Catholic
Wolls emigrated to the United States
and settled in Chicago, Illinois. Matthew Woll attended public school until the age of 15, then became an apprentice photo-engraver. He entered the Kent College of Law
(then part of Lake Forest University
) in 1901. He took night courses, graduated and was admitted to the bar in 1904.
. A firm believer in arbitration
rather than the strike
, Woll forced nearly all IPEU locals to agree to binding arbitration clauses in their collective bargaining
agreements. Woll also campaigned heavily for the five-day work week, paid vacations and holidays, and health and welfare benefits. By the mid-1920s, IPEU had achieved most of these goals.
Woll served as AFL
fraternal delegate to the British Trades Union Congress
in 1915 and 1916. During World War I
, he served on the War Labor Board.
In 1924, when AFL president Samuel Gompers
died, Woll was widely expected to take the reins of the organization. But John L. Lewis
, president of the United Mine Workers of America, wanted the presidency for himself. But Lewis was unable to muster enough support for his candidacy, and threw his weight behind Mine Worker secretary William Green
in the mistaken belief that he could use Green as a puppet to control the AFL. But Green found a kindred anti-communist
in Woll, and the two became close.
Over time, taking on a number of additional responsibilities—including becoming president of the AFL's union label department
; director of the AFL's legal bureau; chairman of the AFL's standing committees on education, social security and international relations—Woll resigned as IPEU president in 1929 and became first vice-president of the union.
Woll is also noted for being the chief proponent of a union-owned insurance company. Woll believed that the purpose of such a company would be "to sell insurance to individual workers without profit, to sell insurance to whole organizations and, thus, weaken the hold of employers on their workers through group insurance." Woll convinced the AFL to provide the start-up money for such an organization. The Union Labor Life Insurance Company
(ULLICO) opened its doors on May 1, 1925. Woll was president of the company from 1925 to 1955, and then its general executive chairman from 1955 until his death.
In the mid 1920s, Woll became acting president of the National Civic Federation
. Woll pushed the federation to collaborate with anti-communist organizations—including pro-fascist groups. He was forced to step down as acting president after coming under attack by Lewis at the 1935 AFL-CIO convention.
In the early 1930s, Woll helped found and then headed up the AFL's National Committee for Modification of the Volstead Act
, an organization seeking repeal of Prohibition
.
Woll published Our Next Step (Harper & Bros.), a treatise on economics
, with William English Walling
in 1934. The work called for federal polices which would encourage a shift from profits to wages in order to expand consumer purchasing power. In 1935, Woll published Labor, Industry and Government (D. Appleton-Century), a treatise on labor relations.
Woll was a strong supporter of craft unionism
. During the debates over the Congress of Industrial Organizations
(CIO), Woll portrayed himself as a conciliator and mediator, but worked behind the scenes to undercut Mine Workers president John L. Lewis
and other proponents of industrial unionism
.
Increasingly obsessed with international affairs and the Soviet Union
, Woll served as an AFL delegate to the International Federation of Trade Unions
conference in 1937 and to the International Labor Organization's conference in 1938.
Woll believed, as had his mentor and friend, Samuel Gompers, that labor's best hope for survival lay in forging a labor-management entente. Subsequently, Woll advocated very conservative positions, including strongly anti-regulatory views. This led Woll to oppose the Fair Labor Standards Act
of 1938, which Woll saw as merely more government intervention in the workplace.
During World War II
, Woll served on the National War Labor Board
. After the war, Woll served as a consultant to the United Nations
on trade union issues, and was instrumental in working with Eleanor Roosevelt
to incorporate language specifically protecting the right to form and/or join a union into Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
.
Woll was elected a vice-president of the AFL-CIO after the two organizations merged in 1955.
Matthew Woll died in 1956.
, in 1935, Woll bitterly denounced the Wagner Act as a betrayal of the legacy of Samuel Gompers.
A vitrioloic anti-communist, Woll eventually became a confidant of AFL president Samuel Gompers and other like-minded labor leaders such as William Green of the United Mine Workers of America. Green in particular relied heavily on Woll for advice and policy guidance during his term as president of the AFL. Woll also became a mentor to Jay Lovestone
, the one-time Communist who was expelled from the party only to become a rabid Red-baiter
and AFL-CIO foreign policy advisor. In 1944, the AFL-CIO established the Free Trade Union Committee
(FTUC) to assist free trade unions abroad, particularly in Europe
. Lovestone was named its secretary, reporting (in part) to Woll. Lovestone's mission was to eliminate pro-Communist unions and supplant them with unions which supported capitalism. The Central Intelligence Agency
funneled millions of dollars through FTUC in support of American foreign policy goals.
Woll's influence on Green is difficult to understate. In many ways, Matthew Woll operated as a kind of puppet-master, heavily influencing AFL-CIO policy through his relationship with Green and AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer George Meany
.
Mild-mannered and courtly, Green strongly believed in an evangelical "Christian cooperation" worldview similar to the social gospel
, in which men of good moral character would do right by one another if only they committed themselves to Christ. Green's views dovetailed with those of Woll, who advocated a cooperative rather than adversarial relationship with management.
Green's religious views also led him to adopt a virulently anti-Communist outlook. Woll and Meany, both ardent anti-Communists, found a fellow traveler in Green. They effectively played on Green's Christian idealism and fears of "godless Communism" to Red-bait leftist leaders and activists throughout the labor movement and seek their ouster.
International Photo-Engravers Union of North America
International Photo-Engravers' Union of North America was a labor union formed in 1904 to represent halftone photoengravers in the printing industry. Its successor union is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Change to Win Federation....
from 1906 to 1929, an American Federation of Labor
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...
(AFL) vice president from 1919 to 1955 and an AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
vice president from 1955 to 1956.
Early life
Born in LuxembourgLuxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
in 1880 to Michael and Janette Woll, the Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Wolls emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and settled in Chicago, Illinois. Matthew Woll attended public school until the age of 15, then became an apprentice photo-engraver. He entered the Kent College of Law
Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago–Kent College of Law, the law school affiliated with Illinois Institute of Technology, is nationally recognized for the scholarship and accomplishments of its faculty and student body. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. Many of the applications of technology in the...
(then part of Lake Forest University
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest College, founded in 1857, is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. The college has 1,500 students representing 47 states and 78 countries....
) in 1901. He took night courses, graduated and was admitted to the bar in 1904.
Early Trade Union Career
In 1906, Woll was elected president of the International Photo-Engravers Union of North America (IPEU). During his tenure, IPEU organized more than 90 percent of all photo-engravers in the United States and CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. A firm believer in arbitration
Arbitration
Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound...
rather than the strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
, Woll forced nearly all IPEU locals to agree to binding arbitration clauses in their collective bargaining
Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...
agreements. Woll also campaigned heavily for the five-day work week, paid vacations and holidays, and health and welfare benefits. By the mid-1920s, IPEU had achieved most of these goals.
Woll served as AFL
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...
fraternal delegate to the British Trades Union Congress
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade unions...
in 1915 and 1916. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he served on the War Labor Board.
AFL career
In 1919, Woll was elected to the executive council of the American Federation of Labor.In 1924, when AFL president Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers was an English-born American cigar maker who became a labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor , and served as that organization's president from 1886 to 1894 and from 1895 until his death in 1924...
died, Woll was widely expected to take the reins of the organization. But John L. Lewis
John L. Lewis
John Llewellyn Lewis was an American leader of organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960...
, president of the United Mine Workers of America, wanted the presidency for himself. But Lewis was unable to muster enough support for his candidacy, and threw his weight behind Mine Worker secretary William Green
William Green (labor leader)
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.-Early years:...
in the mistaken belief that he could use Green as a puppet to control the AFL. But Green found a kindred anti-communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in Woll, and the two became close.
Over time, taking on a number of additional responsibilities—including becoming president of the AFL's union label department
Union Label Department, AFL-CIO
The Union Label and Service Trades Department, AFL-CIO was founded on April 12, 1909, to promote the products and services produced in America by trade union members—especially those products and services identified by a union label, shop card, store card and/or service button...
; director of the AFL's legal bureau; chairman of the AFL's standing committees on education, social security and international relations—Woll resigned as IPEU president in 1929 and became first vice-president of the union.
Woll is also noted for being the chief proponent of a union-owned insurance company. Woll believed that the purpose of such a company would be "to sell insurance to individual workers without profit, to sell insurance to whole organizations and, thus, weaken the hold of employers on their workers through group insurance." Woll convinced the AFL to provide the start-up money for such an organization. The Union Labor Life Insurance Company
Union Labor Life Insurance Company
Ullico Inc. is a privately held insurance and financial services holding company in the United States. The Union Labor Life Insurance Company was founded in 1925 by the American Federation of Labor by its then president, Samuel Gompers, to offer health and life insurance products specifically to...
(ULLICO) opened its doors on May 1, 1925. Woll was president of the company from 1925 to 1955, and then its general executive chairman from 1955 until his death.
In the mid 1920s, Woll became acting president of the National Civic Federation
National Civic Federation
The National Civic Federation, was a federation of American businesses and labor leaders founded in 1900. It favoured moderate progressive reform and sought to resolve disputes arising between industry and organized labor. It emerged first in 1893 as the Chicago Civic Federation , which was also...
. Woll pushed the federation to collaborate with anti-communist organizations—including pro-fascist groups. He was forced to step down as acting president after coming under attack by Lewis at the 1935 AFL-CIO convention.
In the early 1930s, Woll helped found and then headed up the AFL's National Committee for Modification of the Volstead Act
National Committee for Modification of the Volstead Act
The American Federation of Labor's National Committee for Moderation of the Volstead Act was created in January 1931. It was headed by Matthew Woll, who testified before a Congressional committee that workers and organized labor opposed prohibition...
, an organization seeking repeal of Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
.
Woll published Our Next Step (Harper & Bros.), a treatise on economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, with William English Walling
William English Walling
William English Walling was an American labor reformer and socialist born in Louisville, Kentucky. He was the grandson of William Hayden English, the Democratic candidate for vice president in 1880, and was born into wealth. He was educated at the University of Chicago and at Harvard Law School...
in 1934. The work called for federal polices which would encourage a shift from profits to wages in order to expand consumer purchasing power. In 1935, Woll published Labor, Industry and Government (D. Appleton-Century), a treatise on labor relations.
Woll was a strong supporter of craft unionism
Craft unionism
Craft unionism refers to organizing a union in a manner that seeks to unify workers in a particular industry along the lines of the particular craft or trade that they work in by class or skill level...
. During the debates over the Congress of Industrial Organizations
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...
(CIO), Woll portrayed himself as a conciliator and mediator, but worked behind the scenes to undercut Mine Workers president John L. Lewis
John L. Lewis
John Llewellyn Lewis was an American leader of organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960...
and other proponents of industrial unionism
Industrial unionism
Industrial unionism is a labor union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union—regardless of skill or trade—thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in bargaining and in strike situations...
.
Increasingly obsessed with international affairs and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, Woll served as an AFL delegate to the International Federation of Trade Unions
International Federation of Trade Unions
The International Federation of Trade Unions was an international organization of trade unions, existing between 1919 and 1945. IFTU had its roots in the pre-war IFTU....
conference in 1937 and to the International Labor Organization's conference in 1938.
Woll believed, as had his mentor and friend, Samuel Gompers, that labor's best hope for survival lay in forging a labor-management entente. Subsequently, Woll advocated very conservative positions, including strongly anti-regulatory views. This led Woll to oppose the Fair Labor Standards Act
Fair Labor Standards Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is a federal statute of the United States. The FLSA established a national minimum wage, guaranteed 'time-and-a-half' for overtime in certain jobs, and prohibited most employment of minors in "oppressive child labor," a term that is defined in the statute...
of 1938, which Woll saw as merely more government intervention in the workplace.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Woll served on the National War Labor Board
National War Labor Board
The National War Labor Board was a federal agency created in April 1918 by President Woodrow Wilson. It was composed of twelve representatives from business and labor, and co-chaired by Former President William Howard Taft. Its purpose was to arbitrate disputes between workers and employers in...
. After the war, Woll served as a consultant to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
on trade union issues, and was instrumental in working with Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
to incorporate language specifically protecting the right to form and/or join a union into Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
.
Woll was elected a vice-president of the AFL-CIO after the two organizations merged in 1955.
Matthew Woll died in 1956.
Legacy
A lifelong Republican, Woll is considered one of the most conservative of all American labor leaders. For example, at the AFL-CIO convention in Atlantic City, New JerseyAtlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
, in 1935, Woll bitterly denounced the Wagner Act as a betrayal of the legacy of Samuel Gompers.
A vitrioloic anti-communist, Woll eventually became a confidant of AFL president Samuel Gompers and other like-minded labor leaders such as William Green of the United Mine Workers of America. Green in particular relied heavily on Woll for advice and policy guidance during his term as president of the AFL. Woll also became a mentor to Jay Lovestone
Jay Lovestone
Jay Lovestone was at various times a member of the Socialist Party of America, a leader of the Communist Party USA, leader of a small oppositionist party, an anti-Communist and Central Intelligence Agency helper, and foreign policy advisor to the leadership of the AFL-CIO and various unions...
, the one-time Communist who was expelled from the party only to become a rabid Red-baiter
Red-baiting
Red-baiting is the act of accusing, denouncing, attacking or persecuting an individual or group as communist, socialist, or anarchist, or sympathetic toward communism, socialism, or anarchism. The word "red" in "red-baiting" is derived from the red flag signifying radical left-wing politics. In the...
and AFL-CIO foreign policy advisor. In 1944, the AFL-CIO established the Free Trade Union Committee
Free Trade Union Committee
The Free Trade Union Committee was created by the American Federation of Labor At its 1944 convention in New Orleans, the AFL passed a resolution drafted by Jay Lovestone creating the FTUC. Lovestone became its executive secretary. Its mission was to assist trade unions in foreign countries,...
(FTUC) to assist free trade unions abroad, particularly in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Lovestone was named its secretary, reporting (in part) to Woll. Lovestone's mission was to eliminate pro-Communist unions and supplant them with unions which supported capitalism. The Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
funneled millions of dollars through FTUC in support of American foreign policy goals.
Woll's influence on Green is difficult to understate. In many ways, Matthew Woll operated as a kind of puppet-master, heavily influencing AFL-CIO policy through his relationship with Green and AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer George Meany
George Meany
William George Meany led labor union federations in the United States. As an officer of the American Federation of Labor, he represented the AFL on the National War Labor Board during World War II....
.
Mild-mannered and courtly, Green strongly believed in an evangelical "Christian cooperation" worldview similar to the social gospel
Social Gospel
The Social Gospel movement is a Protestant Christian intellectual movement that was most prominent in the early 20th century United States and Canada...
, in which men of good moral character would do right by one another if only they committed themselves to Christ. Green's views dovetailed with those of Woll, who advocated a cooperative rather than adversarial relationship with management.
Green's religious views also led him to adopt a virulently anti-Communist outlook. Woll and Meany, both ardent anti-Communists, found a fellow traveler in Green. They effectively played on Green's Christian idealism and fears of "godless Communism" to Red-bait leftist leaders and activists throughout the labor movement and seek their ouster.