L. S. Buckmaster
Leland Stanford Buckmaster (March 30, 1894 – January 2, 1967) was an American trade unionist.
Born in Geneva, Indiana, Buckmaster studied at Tri-State College, before becoming a schoolteacher. He served in the United States Army during World War I, then after the war began working for the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company as a tin finisher. He joined what became the United Rubber Workers of America in 1933, and began working full-time for the union in 1937.[1]
In 1941, Buckmaster was elected as a vice-president of the United Rubber Workers, then in 1945, he was elected as its president. He opposed communism, and sought to expel communists from the union.[1] He was removed from office by the executive board in 1949, on a charge of malfeasance,[2] but the union's convention later in the year voted to reinstate him.[3]
Buckmaster became a vice president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, and took a leading role in merging it with the American Federation of Labor. This was achieved in 1955, and he became a vice-president of the new AFL-CIO. He retired as union president in 1960, and from the federation in 1962.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Olson, James S.; Mendoza, Abraham O. (2015). American Economic History: A Dictionary and Chronology. ABC-CLIO. p. 81. ISBN 9781610696982.
- ^ Weart, William G. (May 25, 1949). "RUBBER WORKERS OUST BUCKMASTER; Head of CIO Union Discharged by the Executive Board for 'Malfeasance in Office'". New York Times. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ "Rubber union voids Buckmaster ousting". New York Times. September 22, 1949. Retrieved 4 February 2023.