JOHN L. LEWIS - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 11/06/1940 - HFSID 174453
Sale Price $215.00
Reg. $260.00
JOHN L. LEWIS
President of the CIO sends a typed letter of acknowledgement for a
card and the encouragement
Typed Letter Signed: "John L. Lewis", 1p, 8½x11.
Washington, D.C., 1940 November 6. On Congress of Industrial
Organizations letterhead to Mr. B.W. Erk, Waterbury, Connecticut. In
full: "I take this occasion to thank you for your recent card. I am glad
you approved the expressions contained in my public address." Lewis, a giant
among labor leaders, was an organizer of the American Federation of Labor before
being elected President of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) in 1920. In
1935, he joined with the head of seven other unions to form the Congress of
Industrial Organizations (CIO). His success in organizing workers resulted in
the CIO membership exceeding that of the AFL by 1937. A Republican who
supported FDR's "New Deal", Lewis was opposed to Roosevelt's bid for a third
term and threatened to resign as President of the CIO if Roosevelt was
elected. The day before this letter was written, FDR was elected. Lewis
resigned from the CIO but retained his leadership of the UMWA. In the 1940s,
Lewis led a series of strikes that resulted in increased wages for miners. After
his retirement in 1960, he served as Chairman of the UMWA's Welfare and
Retirement Fund. Folds, light horizontal fold through signature. Tack head-size
stain at upper left margin. Fine condition.
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