Lane Kirkland: Champion of American Labor

Few have achieved more for the American worker than Lane Kirkland; fewer still have received less credit than Lane for their pivotal roles. In Lane Kirkland, political writer Arch Puddington traces one man's steady rise to the most powerful position in organized labor, a position many claimed, with only slight exaggeration, was more important than the presidency of the United States.

Based on primary sources—including Kirkland's own unfinished history of the labor movement—this engrossing biography is the first work to track the lifelong journey of this champion for the American worker and crusader for workers worldwide. Puddington creates a vivid portrait of Kirkland's unusual life story, from the small, impoverished mill town of his boyhood, to the corridors of power in Washington, D.C., to a trade union congress in Gdansk, Poland. He skillfully recounts Kirkland's role in some of the thorniest issues faced by American labor and how, with tenacious leadership, he forged the disparate and often feuding unions of American labor—the Teamsters, the United Auto Workers, the United Mine Workers, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union—into a unified and powerful political force. This meticulously researched biography also reveals how the positive transforming events of the New Deal in the South and Kirkland's enlistment in World War II shaped his lifelong political convictions that the United States possessed the strength and the wealth to expand freedom throughout the world and promote the welfare of its own people. This fierce commitment propelled him to the side of Polish Solidarity workers, where his steadfast support led to the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe.

Brimming with forgotten morsels of history, Lane Kirkland explores how this New Dealer and Cold Warrior fought doggedly for measures that brought concrete benefits to ordinary working men and women. Kirkland left an imprint on practically every piece of significant social legislation from the 1950s onward, from Social Security and the laws that eliminated racial segregation to Medicare and health and safety legislation. Whatever the issue, Kirkland believed that the voice of working Americans should be heard through their representatives in the labor movement—and, for sixteen years, that voice was most often Kirkland's own.

From the Old South to the New Deal, from Washington, D.C., to Poland, from World War II to Vietnam, Lane Kirkland provides a probing, insightful look into the events that shaped an unassuming young boy into the most eloquent and effective spokesman for workers worldwide.

Puddington, with Freedom House, presents a biography of labor leader Kirkland (1922-90), describing a journey from a small impoverished mill town to the corridors of power in Washington to a trade union congress in Poland. He succeeded George Meany to the head of the AFL-CIO in 1979, and was ousted in a bitter battle in 1995.
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The untold story of Lane Kirkland, labor leader and advocate for the American worker

"This book tells the story of one of the true heroes of the struggle for freedom from totalitarianism. Through the skillful use of the power he exercised as the leader of American labor, and through his own unshakeable commitment, Lane Kirkland played a crucial role in our peaceful revolution in Poland. He did much more. Throughout the world, millions of free people owe him a debt of gratitude for his service to the democratic cause. I am gratified that the full account of his indispensable contribution to freedom has finally been written."

—Lech Walesa, founder of Solidarity and former president of Poland

"Lane Kirkland believed in freedom and would fight for his beliefs. Here is a portrait of his tough, principled, and consistent brand of leadership. We can admire him and learn from him."

—George P. Schultz

"I knew Lane Kirkland well. While he may not always have been able to secure the influence of the American labor movement he represented, he always supported the interests of the workers with great dedication and showed willingness to compromise. . . . [With] this biography, the man and his work will always be remembered. The book will also find considerable interest in Germany."

—Helmut Schmidt, former chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (1974?1982)

"Lane was a crusader for freedom and I can testify on the basis of personal involvement that his role in the defeat of Stalinism was second to none."

—Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Adviser to President Jimmy Carter

Here is the first biography to chronicle Lane Kirklands remarkable life. As president of the AFL-CIO for sixteen years—from 1979 to 1995—he was a major architect of the American labor movement in the postwar era. Kirkland presided over some of the most difficult issues faced by the American labor movement and, more than anyone else outside of Poland, is credited with being instrumental in the demise of Poland's communist regime. "Lane Kirkland: A Biography is destined to become the most definitive work on one of Americas major political leaders.

ARCH PUDDINGTON, Vice President for Research at Freedom House, has written extensively on politics for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Commentary, and many other publications. He is the author of two books, Failed Utopias and Broadcasting Freedom: The Cold War Triumph of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. Puddington lives in New York City.

Dedication.

Acknowledgements.

Prologue: "All Sinners Belong in the Church"

1. Southern Roots.

2. Education of a Trade Unionist.

3. Expanding Horizons.

4. Captain of the Ship.

5. Labor Versus Reagan.

6. All Out for Fritz.

7. Solidarity Forever.

8. Central America: Fighting the Good Fight at Home and Abroad.

9. Mr. Democracy.

10. Labor Unity; Labor Pains.

11. Civil Rights: Keeping the Faith.

12. Two Cheers for Clinton.

13. The Coup.

14. Freedom's Five Star General.

Index.