Theodore W. Kheel
Encyclopedia
Theodore Woodrow Kheel was an American attorney and labor mediator who played a key role in reaching resolutions of long-simmering labor disputes between managements and unions and resulting strikes in New York City
and elsewhere in the United States, including the 114-day long 1962-63 New York City newspaper strike that crippled the city's traditional media.
and was named for U.S. Presidents Roosevelt
and Wilson
. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School
. Kheel received a B.A.
degree from Cornell University
in 1935 and was awarded his law degree from Cornell Law School
in 1937. At Cornell, Kheel was elected to the Sphinx Head Society
. He took a position with the National Labor Relations Board
in 1938 and worked for the National War Labor Board
during World War II
, mediating labor disputes as part of an effort to maintain productivity of materiel needed for the ongoing war. Kheel was hired by New York City after the war and became the director of the city's department of labor relations in 1947.
Robert F. Wagner, Jr.
named Kheel as the city's transit arbitrator in 1956, a position he held for almost thirty years while resolving tens of thousands of labor issues.
Mayor Wagner called on Kheel in 1963 to help mediate the ongoing New York City newspaper strike, in which ten different unions and the publishers of the city's various newspapers had already been deadlocked for nearly three months. Kheel was asked to step in and was so confident of a quick resolution of the dispute that he brought a pair of champagne bottles with him to the negotiations planning to celebrate. However, he ended up spending several hundred hours engaging in "shuttle negotiations", eventually reaching a pact in which the typographer's union received a larger increase then other union workers. An analysis performed by The New York Times
showed that the newspapers involved in the strike had lost a total of more than $100 million in advertising and circulation revenues and that the industry's more than 19 thousand employees lost $50 million in wages and benefits. Kheel would later play a role in coordinating negotiations that led to a resolution of the New York City teachers' strike of 1968, in which the New York City Public Schools
were closed for 36 days over a period of months after actions started by the United Federation of Teachers
.
New York City Mayor Ed Koch
was among those who said that contracts that Kheel negotiated between the city and its employees were overly generous and helped cause the fiscal crisis that the city faced in the 1970s. Koch replaced Kheel in 1982 as the City's chief labor negotiator.
, and in the civil rights movement
in the 50s and 60s where he served as Executive Director of the National Urban League
during the term of NUL President Lester Granger
. Kheel was one of the principals in Tom Mboya
's efforts of the late 50s and early 60s to organize the "Airlift Africa" project that ultimately brought some 230 African students to the U.S. over the period 1960-63 to study on scholarship at Class I accredited colleges. Among these students was President Barack Obama
's father, Barack Obama, Sr.
who later settled in Hawaii where President Obama was born.
Kheel was one of the lead developers of the PUNTACANA Resort and Club
in the Dominican Republic
. Kheel founded the Nurture Nature Foundation to help resolve the continuing conflict between environmental protection and economic development.
A resident of Manhattan
, Kheel died at the age of 96 on November 12, 2010. He was survived by five daughters and one son, 11 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. His wife, Ann Sunstein, died in 2003 and had been an active member of the New York Urban League (Kheel met Sunstein, also a Cornell graduate, while the two were studying there).
In explaining how to reach a settlement, Kheel said that "It is like sculpting an elephant: you chip away everything that doesn't look like an elephant and what's left is an elephant. When you are trying to get a labor contract, you do the same thing. You chip away everything that doesn't belong in the agreement, and what's left is the agreement".
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...
and elsewhere in the United States, including the 114-day long 1962-63 New York City newspaper strike that crippled the city's traditional media.
Early life and career
Kheel was born on May 9, 1914, in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
and was named for U.S. Presidents Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
and Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School
DeWitt Clinton High School
DeWitt Clinton High School is an American high school located in the Bronx, New York City, New York.-History:Clinton opened in 1897 at 60 West 13th Street at the northern end of Greenwich Village under the name of Boys High School, although this Boys High School was not related to the one in Brooklyn...
. Kheel received a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1935 and was awarded his law degree from Cornell Law School
Cornell Law School
Cornell Law School, located in Ithaca, New York, is a graduate school of Cornell University and one of the five Ivy League law schools. The school confers three law degrees...
in 1937. At Cornell, Kheel was elected to the Sphinx Head Society
Sphinx Head
The Sphinx Head Society is the oldest senior honor society at Cornell University. Sphinx Head recognizes Cornell senior men and women who have demonstrated respectable strength of character on top of a dedication to leadership and service at Cornell University...
. He took a position with the National Labor Relations Board
National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency of the United States government charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of...
in 1938 and worked for 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...
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...
, mediating labor disputes as part of an effort to maintain productivity of materiel needed for the ongoing war. Kheel was hired by New York City after the war and became the director of the city's department of labor relations in 1947.
Labor mediation
Leaving public service in 1948, Kheel went into private practice, but remained involved in the public sphere as a labor negotiator, including being named as independent arbitrator for New York City's independent transit companies. Mayor of New York CityMayor 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:...
named Kheel as the city's transit arbitrator in 1956, a position he held for almost thirty years while resolving tens of thousands of labor issues.
Mayor Wagner called on Kheel in 1963 to help mediate the ongoing New York City newspaper strike, in which ten different unions and the publishers of the city's various newspapers had already been deadlocked for nearly three months. Kheel was asked to step in and was so confident of a quick resolution of the dispute that he brought a pair of champagne bottles with him to the negotiations planning to celebrate. However, he ended up spending several hundred hours engaging in "shuttle negotiations", eventually reaching a pact in which the typographer's union received a larger increase then other union workers. An analysis performed by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
showed that the newspapers involved in the strike had lost a total of more than $100 million in advertising and circulation revenues and that the industry's more than 19 thousand employees lost $50 million in wages and benefits. Kheel would later play a role in coordinating negotiations that led to a resolution of the New York City teachers' strike of 1968, in which the New York City Public Schools
New York City Department of Education
The New York City Department of Education is the branch of municipal government in New York City that manages the city's public school system. It is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,700 separate schools...
were closed for 36 days over a period of months after actions started by the United Federation of Teachers
United Federation of Teachers
The United Federation of Teachers is the labor union that represents most educators in New York City public schools. , there were about 118,000 in-service educators and 17,000 paraprofessionals in the union, as well as about 54,000 retired members...
.
New York City Mayor Ed Koch
Ed Koch
Edward Irving "Ed" Koch is an American lawyer, politician, and political commentator. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and three terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989...
was among those who said that contracts that Kheel negotiated between the city and its employees were overly generous and helped cause the fiscal crisis that the city faced in the 1970s. Koch replaced Kheel in 1982 as the City's chief labor negotiator.
Personal
In addition to his mediation roles, Kheel wrote a multi-volume text on labor law and the popular book The Keys to Conflict Resolution: Proven Methods of Resolving Disputes Voluntarily. He was also widely involved with such philanthropic organizations as the Gandhi Society for Human RightsHuman rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, and in the civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
in the 50s and 60s where he served as Executive Director of the National Urban League
National Urban League
The National Urban League , formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of African Americans and against racial discrimination in the United States. It is the oldest and largest...
during the term of NUL President Lester Granger
Lester Granger
Lester Blackwell Granger was an African American civic leader who organized the Los Angeles, California, chapter of the National Urban League ....
. Kheel was one of the principals in Tom Mboya
Tom Mboya
Thomas Joseph Odhiambo Mboya was a prominent Kenyan politician during Jomo Kenyatta's government. He was founder of the Nairobi People's Congress Party, a key figure in the formation of the Kenya African National Union , and the Minister of Economic Planning and Development at the time of his death...
's efforts of the late 50s and early 60s to organize the "Airlift Africa" project that ultimately brought some 230 African students to the U.S. over the period 1960-63 to study on scholarship at Class I accredited colleges. Among these students was President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's father, Barack Obama, Sr.
Barack Obama, Sr.
Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. was a Kenyan senior governmental economist and the father of U.S. President Barack Obama. He is a central subject in his son's memoir, Dreams from My Father.-Early life:...
who later settled in Hawaii where President Obama was born.
Kheel was one of the lead developers of the PUNTACANA Resort and Club
PUNTACANA Resort and Club
PUNTACANA Resort & Club is a resort and residential community located in Punta Cana, La Altagracia Province, Dominican Republic; established in 1969 by businessman and hotelier Frank Rainieri and Theodore W. Kheel, a New York attorney and labor mediator...
in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. Kheel founded the Nurture Nature Foundation to help resolve the continuing conflict between environmental protection and economic development.
A resident of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, Kheel died at the age of 96 on November 12, 2010. He was survived by five daughters and one son, 11 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. His wife, Ann Sunstein, died in 2003 and had been an active member of the New York Urban League (Kheel met Sunstein, also a Cornell graduate, while the two were studying there).
In explaining how to reach a settlement, Kheel said that "It is like sculpting an elephant: you chip away everything that doesn't look like an elephant and what's left is an elephant. When you are trying to get a labor contract, you do the same thing. You chip away everything that doesn't belong in the agreement, and what's left is the agreement".