Leon Lynch facts for kids
Leon Lynch (born June 4, 1935 – died May 4, 2012) was an important American trade union leader. A trade union is a group of workers who join together to protect their rights and improve their working conditions. Leon Lynch was the first African American to become an international vice president of a major labor union. He held this role for the United Steelworkers from 1976 to 2006. He was also elected to the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO in 1995, which is a large group of many different unions. He served there until he retired in 2008. Lynch also helped lead the A. Philip Randolph Institute and was a member of the Democratic National Committee, a political group.
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Early Life and Education
Leon Lynch was born in Edwards, Mississippi, in 1935. His father, Herman Lynch, worked in a mill, and his mother, Ethel Marie Lynch, was a cook and cleaner. Leon was one of eight children. When he was a boy, his family moved to Gary, Indiana. There, he went to public schools and graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School.
Starting His Career
In 1956, Leon Lynch began working at the Youngstown Sheet & Tube steel mill in East Chicago, Indiana. He loaded pipes at the mill. While working there, he joined the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) - Local 1011. This union is now known as the United Steelworkers, or USW.
Lynch quickly became very active in the union. He helped workers with their problems as a grievance representative. He also served on different union committees and was the president of the credit union for workers. In 1968, the union hired him to work full-time as a staff representative. After Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was sadly killed, Leon Lynch was sent to Memphis, Tennessee. His job was to help organize African American workers there.
His Union Leadership
In Memphis, Leon Lynch's first job was to work with Local 7655. This group represented workers at the Carrier air conditioning plant. Even though there was still a lot of sadness and tension in Memphis after Dr. King's death, Lynch quickly helped black and white workers get along. He was so successful that the Carrier workers named their first meeting place the "Leon Lynch Union Hall."
In 1976, the Steelworkers union created a new position: Vice President for Human Affairs. Leon Lynch was chosen for this important role. His job was to lead the union's efforts in civil rights and human rights. He was the first African American to become an international officer in any major union. He was seen as a top leader in the union. He was elected and re-elected six times, serving for 24 years until he retired from the USW in 2006.
During his many years of service, Lynch helped connect the union movement with the civil rights movement. He was the national chairman of the A. Philip Randolph Institute. He was also a leader in the fight against apartheid in South Africa. Apartheid was a system of racial separation and unfair treatment. At his request, his friend, Coretta Scott King, asked her father-in-law, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr., to speak at a union rally. The community filled a stadium to hear him speak.
Other Important Roles
In 1995, Leon Lynch was elected to the AFL-CIO Executive Council. Here, he worked on committees dealing with civil rights, human rights, immigration, and worker safety. He was also active in many other groups that supported political and human rights. He was on the executive committee of the Democratic National Committee. He was also a board member of the National Endowment for Democracy, which helps promote democracy around the world.
In 1994, President Bill Clinton asked him to join the Advisory Council on Unemployment Compensation. This group advises on payments for people who have lost their jobs. In 2000, President Clinton also appointed him to the Air Traffic Service Board of the Federal Aviation Administration.
In 2005, USW Local 1011 in East Chicago, where Lynch first started his union journey, opened the Leon Lynch Learning Center. This center helps steelworkers learn new skills and get training. This prepares them for new job opportunities in a changing world.
Personal Life and Death
Leon Lynch married Estella Wheeler Smith in 1956. They had three daughters together. Even though their marriage ended after 29 years, they remained good friends. In 1998, he married Doris Tindal. After retiring from the USW in 2006, he and his wife moved to Bullhead City, Arizona. A few years later, he also bought a home in Collierville, Tennessee, to be closer to one of his daughters and his youngest grandchild.
Leon Lynch passed away on May 4, 2012, from cancer in Memphis, Tennessee. He was survived by his wife, his daughters, and five grandchildren.
