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William George Meany (August 16, 1894 – January 10, 1980) was an American labor union leader for 57 years. He was the key figure in the creation of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, and served as the AFL-CIO's first president from 1955–1979. Meany's father was a union plumber, and George also became a plumber at a young age. He became a full-time union official twelve years later. As an officer of the American Federation of Labor, he represented the AFL on the National War Labor Board during World War II. He served as president of the AFL from 1952 to 1955. He proposed its merger with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in 1952, and led the negotiations until the merger was completed in 1955. He then served as president of the combined AFL-CIO for the next 24 years. Meany had a reputation for integrity and consistent opposition to corruption in the labor movement, and uncompromising anti-communism. He was the best known union leader in the United States in the mid 20th century. ==Early years== Meany was born into a Roman Catholic family in Harlem in New York City on August 16, 1894, the second of 10 children.〔 His parents were Michael Meany and Anne Cullen Meany, who were both American-born and of Irish descent.〔 His ancestors had immigrated to the United States in the 1850s. His father Michael was a plumber and a strong supporter of the trade union movement who served as president of his plumber's union local. Michael Meany was also a precinct level activist in the Democratic Party.〔 Meany grew up in the Port Morris neighborhood of The Bronx, where his parents had moved when he was five years old.〔 Always called "George", he did not know that his real first name was William until he got a work permit as a teenager.〔 Following his father's career path, Meany quit high school at the age of 16〔 to work as a plumber's helper.〔 He then served a five-year apprenticeship as a plumber, and got his journeyman's certificate〔 in 1917 with Local 463 United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters of the United States and Canada.〔 Michael Meany died suddenly of a heart attack in 1916 after a bout of pneumonia. When George Meany's older brother joined the United States Army in 1917, George became the sole source of income for his mother and six younger children.〔 He supplemented his income for a while by playing as a semi-professional baseball catcher.〔 In 1919, George Meany married Eugenia McMahon, a garment worker and a member of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union.〔 They had three daughters.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「George Meany」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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