Nathan Feinsinger
Encyclopedia
Nathan Paul Feinsinger was a professor of law at the University of Wisconsin Law School
. He mediated
and arbitrated
a number of strikes
, and served as general counsel
to the Wisconsin Labor Relations Board and associate general counsel to the National War Labor Board
(WLB).
Feinsinger is best known for his mediation efforts in the 1944 telephone operators strike, the 1947 pineapple workers strike, the 1952 steel strike, and the 1966 New York City
transit worker strike.
.
He graduated from the University of Michigan
with a bachelor's degree
in 1924 and a law degree
in 1926.
After post-graduate study at Columbia Law School
in New York City
, he joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin School of Law in 1929. During his academic career, he was also a visiting professor of law at numerous other law schools throughout the nation.
In 1942, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
appointed Feinsinger associate general counsel of the War Labor Board. He was promoted to Director of National Disputes in 1943, overseeing labor problems of a national nature, and was appointed to be a representative of the public on the board in 1945.
During his tenure on the War Labor Board, Feinsinger helped settle a number of important strikes. In November 1944, he settled a national strike by telephone switchboard operators belonging to the National Federation of Telephone Workers which had shut down telephone service in Washington, D.C.
, Detroit
and other large cities. Feinsinger told the union leaders that they were defying the government of the United States and "no union has done that yet and succeeded." On November 24, telephone workers in Dayton
ended their walk-out and the nationwide strike collapsed. President Roosevelt specifically praised Feinsinger for his role in ending the dispute.
President Harry S. Truman
appointed Feinsinger to a presidential fact-finding board on December 31, 1945, along with Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger I. McDonough
and Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice James M. Douglas, to investigate an ongoing labor dispute in the steel industry in which 700,000 steelworkers threatened to strike. Although the Feinsinger panel was unable to avert the strike, the fact-finding report helped lead to an eventual settlement of the strike.
After a general strike by maritime workers on the West Coast
began in early September 1946, President Truman named Feinsinger as the federal government's chief mediator. The War Labor Board had cut wage increases won through collective bargaining nearly in half, but Feinsinger was able to negotiate an end to the strike which convinced the WLB to restore the cuts.
—which threatened to close all ports in Hawaii in support of the sugar workers. A lengthy strike would have broken the fragile Hawaiian economy, which was heavily dependent on large shipments of food, fuel and other supplies in order to sustain the large military and civilian defense presence on the island. As Feinsinger himself noted:
Feinsinger was rushed to Hawaii by a military aircraft and entered into three days of nearly non-stop negotiations. The strike ended on terms favorable to the union on July 16. A grateful Hawaii territorial legislature proclaimed the day the strike ended "Nathan P. Feinsinger Day."
Feinsinger left federal service in 1948. In February 1950, he was involved in an automobile accident in Wisconsin that claimed two lives. The accident shattered his hip, and he required extensive surgery and rehabilitation. But he resumed a heavy schedule of lecturing and teaching by the end of the year.
on August 15, 1951, succeeding George W. Taylor
. The board was part of a massive federal wage and price stabilization effort designed to support defense production and mobilization during the Korean War
.
Feinsinger faced an immediate wage crisis as unionized steelworkers threatened to strike in order to win wage and productivity increases. Feinsinger convinced United Steelworkers of America president Philip Murray
to call off a strike set for January 1, 1952, in favor of a 90-day voluntary cooling-off and fact-finding period. Feinsinger was forced to turn over the wage case to the president for resolution, but continued to work feverishly toward a solution. At 6:30 a.m. on March 20, 1952, Feinsinger collapsed and lapsed into unconsciousness after 15 and a half hours of uninterrupted negotiations. Despite several additional proposed solutions, neither the employers nor the union agreed to a new contract. The steelworkers set their strike to begin on April 9. But at 10:30 p.m. on the evening of April 8, 1952, President Truman invoked his powers as commander-in-chief and seized the steel mills. On June 2, in a landmark decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer
, 343 U.S. 579
, that the president lacked the authority to seize the steel mills. The steelworkers struck the next day to win their wage increase. The strike lasted 55 days, and ended on July 24 on essentially the same terms the union had proposed four months earlier.
. Feinsinger was appointed chairman of a three-member mediation panel by Mayor
Robert F. Wagner, Jr.
and Mayor-elect John Lindsay
. Although the city won an injunction against the strike and jailed the union's 61-year-old ailing president, Mike Quill
, Feinsinger quickly led both sides into a rapid series of give-and-take bargaining sessions which ended the bitter wintertime strike after just 13 days.
and the United Auto Workers
.
In 1967, Feinsinger founded the Center for Teaching and Research in Disputes Settlement at the University of Wisconsin. He retired from teaching in 1973.
Feinsinger suffered a stroke
in May 1982. He died from complications related to the stroke on Wednesday, November 3, 1983, in Glenwood Springs, Colorado
. He was survived by his estranged wife, Bettie, and his three children
The Nathan P. Feinsinger Professor of Law chair at the University of Wisconsin Law School was endowed in his name.
University of Wisconsin Law School
The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional school for the study of law at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. The law school was founded in 1868.-Facilities:...
. He mediated
Mediation
Mediation, as used in law, is a form of alternative dispute resolution , a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties. A third party, the mediator, assists the parties to negotiate their own settlement...
and arbitrated
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...
a number of strikes
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...
, and served as general counsel
Counsel
A counsel or a counselor gives advice, more particularly in legal matters.-U.K. and Ireland:The legal system in England uses the term counsel as an approximate synonym for a barrister-at-law, and may apply it to mean either a single person who pleads a cause, or collectively, the body of barristers...
to the Wisconsin Labor Relations Board and associate general counsel to 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...
(WLB).
Feinsinger is best known for his mediation efforts in the 1944 telephone operators strike, the 1947 pineapple workers strike, the 1952 steel strike, and the 1966 New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
transit worker strike.
Early life
Feinsinger was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1902 but grew up in BuffaloBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
.
He graduated from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in 1924 and a law degree
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in 1926.
After post-graduate study at Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, he joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin School of Law in 1929. During his academic career, he was also a visiting professor of law at numerous other law schools throughout the nation.
Government service
Feinsinger was appointed general counsel to the Wisconsin Labor Relations Board in 1937. He served for two years, during which time he was on leave from the University of Wisconsin.In 1942, President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
appointed Feinsinger associate general counsel of the War Labor Board. He was promoted to Director of National Disputes in 1943, overseeing labor problems of a national nature, and was appointed to be a representative of the public on the board in 1945.
During his tenure on the War Labor Board, Feinsinger helped settle a number of important strikes. In November 1944, he settled a national strike by telephone switchboard operators belonging to the National Federation of Telephone Workers which had shut down telephone service in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
and other large cities. Feinsinger told the union leaders that they were defying the government of the United States and "no union has done that yet and succeeded." On November 24, telephone workers in Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
ended their walk-out and the nationwide strike collapsed. President Roosevelt specifically praised Feinsinger for his role in ending the dispute.
President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
appointed Feinsinger to a presidential fact-finding board on December 31, 1945, along with Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger I. McDonough
Roger I. McDonough
Roger I. McDonough was an American judge. He served on the Utah Supreme Court from 1938 to 1966. He was the Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court from 1947 to 1948 and from 1954 to 1959, and was called upon by President Harry S...
and Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice James M. Douglas, to investigate an ongoing labor dispute in the steel industry in which 700,000 steelworkers threatened to strike. Although the Feinsinger panel was unable to avert the strike, the fact-finding report helped lead to an eventual settlement of the strike.
After a general strike by maritime workers on the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
began in early September 1946, President Truman named Feinsinger as the federal government's chief mediator. The War Labor Board had cut wage increases won through collective bargaining nearly in half, but Feinsinger was able to negotiate an end to the strike which convinced the WLB to restore the cuts.
The pineapple strike
Feinsinger played a critical role in settling a pineapple strike by Hawaiian workers which began on July 11, 1947. Although the strike only lasted five days, the workers were represented by the relatively militant International Longshore and Warehouse UnionInternational Longshore and Warehouse Union
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers on the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii and Alaska, and in British Columbia, Canada. It also represents hotel workers in Hawaii, cannery workers in Alaska, warehouse workers throughout...
—which threatened to close all ports in Hawaii in support of the sugar workers. A lengthy strike would have broken the fragile Hawaiian economy, which was heavily dependent on large shipments of food, fuel and other supplies in order to sustain the large military and civilian defense presence on the island. As Feinsinger himself noted:
- This is the toughest case I ever worked on. There was danger that if the strike was not settled this week it would have gone on for months and dragged sugar and the waterfront down with it.
Feinsinger was rushed to Hawaii by a military aircraft and entered into three days of nearly non-stop negotiations. The strike ended on terms favorable to the union on July 16. A grateful Hawaii territorial legislature proclaimed the day the strike ended "Nathan P. Feinsinger Day."
Feinsinger left federal service in 1948. In February 1950, he was involved in an automobile accident in Wisconsin that claimed two lives. The accident shattered his hip, and he required extensive surgery and rehabilitation. But he resumed a heavy schedule of lecturing and teaching by the end of the year.
The steel strike
President Truman named Feinsinger chairman of the Wage Stabilization BoardWage Stabilization Board
The Wage Stabilization Board was set up by President Harry Truman within the United States Department of Labor, in December 1945, to take over the work of the National War Labor Board...
on August 15, 1951, succeeding George W. Taylor
George W. Taylor (professor)
George W. Taylor was a notable professor of industrial relations at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and is credited with founding the academic field of study known as industrial relations. He served in several capacities in the federal government, most notably as a mediator...
. The board was part of a massive federal wage and price stabilization effort designed to support defense production and mobilization during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.
Feinsinger faced an immediate wage crisis as unionized steelworkers threatened to strike in order to win wage and productivity increases. Feinsinger convinced United Steelworkers of America president Philip Murray
Philip Murray
Philip Murray was a Scottish born steelworker and an American labor leader. He was the first president of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee , the first president of the United Steelworkers of America , and the longest-serving president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations .-Early...
to call off a strike set for January 1, 1952, in favor of a 90-day voluntary cooling-off and fact-finding period. Feinsinger was forced to turn over the wage case to the president for resolution, but continued to work feverishly toward a solution. At 6:30 a.m. on March 20, 1952, Feinsinger collapsed and lapsed into unconsciousness after 15 and a half hours of uninterrupted negotiations. Despite several additional proposed solutions, neither the employers nor the union agreed to a new contract. The steelworkers set their strike to begin on April 9. But at 10:30 p.m. on the evening of April 8, 1952, President Truman invoked his powers as commander-in-chief and seized the steel mills. On June 2, in a landmark decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, , also commonly referred to as The Steel Seizure Case, was a United States Supreme Court decision that limited the power of the President of the United States to seize private property in the absence of either specifically enumerated authority under Article...
, 343 U.S. 579
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
, that the president lacked the authority to seize the steel mills. The steelworkers struck the next day to win their wage increase. The strike lasted 55 days, and ended on July 24 on essentially the same terms the union had proposed four months earlier.
New York City transit strike
One of his last major roles as a mediator occurred during the 1966 New York City transit strike1966 New York City transit strike
The 1966 New York City transit strike was a strike in New York City called by the Transport Workers Union and Amalgamated Transit Union after the expiration of their contract with the New York City Transit Authority . It was the first strike against the TA; pre-TWU transit strikes in 1905, 1910,...
. Feinsinger was appointed chairman of a three-member mediation panel by Mayor
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
Robert F. Wagner, Jr.
Robert F. Wagner, Jr.
Robert Ferdinand Wagner II, usually known as Robert F. Wagner, Jr. served three terms as the mayor of New York City, from 1954 through 1965.-Biography:...
and Mayor-elect John Lindsay
John Lindsay
John Vliet Lindsay was an American politician, lawyer and broadcaster who was a U.S. Congressman, Mayor of New York City, candidate for U.S...
. Although the city won an injunction against the strike and jailed the union's 61-year-old ailing president, Mike Quill
Mike Quill
Michael J. Quill was one of the founders of the Transport Workers Union of America , a union founded by subway workers in New York City that expanded to represent employees in other forms of transit, and the President of the TWU for most of the first thirty years of its existence...
, Feinsinger quickly led both sides into a rapid series of give-and-take bargaining sessions which ended the bitter wintertime strike after just 13 days.
Retirement, death and endowment
Throughout his life, Feinsinger mediated strikes and labor disputes in many industries, including steel, automobile manufacturing, maritime trades, meat-packing, airlines and transit industries. In the 1960s, Feinsinger was named an impartial arbitrator by General MotorsGeneral Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
and the United Auto Workers
United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial...
.
In 1967, Feinsinger founded the Center for Teaching and Research in Disputes Settlement at the University of Wisconsin. He retired from teaching in 1973.
Feinsinger suffered a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in May 1982. He died from complications related to the stroke on Wednesday, November 3, 1983, in Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Glenwood Springs, Colorado
The City of Glenwood Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimated that the city population was 8,564 in 2005...
. He was survived by his estranged wife, Bettie, and his three children
The Nathan P. Feinsinger Professor of Law chair at the University of Wisconsin Law School was endowed in his name.