The first-ever "political action committee" in the United States of America was the
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in 1935 as a committee within the American Federation of ...
–
Political Action Committee or CIO-PAC (1943–1955). What distinguished the CIO-PAC from previous political groups (including the
AFL
AFL may refer to:
Sports
* American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues:
** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
's political operations) was its "open, public operation, soliciting support from non-CIO unionists and from the progressive public. ... Moreover, CIO political operatives would actively participate in intraparty platform, policy, and candidate selection processes, pressing the broad agenda of the industrial union movement."
Background

In his 1993 memoir,
John Abt, general counsel for the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America under
Sidney Hillman, claimed the leaders of the
Communist Party of the USA had inspired the idea of the CIO-PAC:
In 1943, Gene Dennis came to me and Lee Pressman
Lee Pressman (July 1, 1906 – November 20, 1969) was a labor attorney and earlier a US government functionary, publicly alleged in 1948 to have been a spy for Soviet intelligence during the mid-1930s (as a member of the Ware Group), following hi ...
to first raise the idea of a political action committee to organize labor support for Roosevelt in the approaching 1944 election. Pressman approached Murray with the idea, as I did with Hillman. Both men seized upon the proposal with great enthusiasm.
Abt and Pressman become the CIO-PAC's co-counsels.
Thus, in 1943, as American spy
Elizabeth Bentley
Elizabeth Terrill Bentley (January 1, 1908 – December 3, 1963) was an American spy and member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). She served the Soviet Union from 1938 to 1945 until she defected from the Communist Party and Soviet intelligenc ...
resurrected the
Ware Group (of which Abt had been a member), could not risk involvement with her or the group. Instead, the group reformed under
Victor Perlo as the
Perlo Group
Headed by Victor Perlo, the Perlo group is the name given to a group of Americans who provided information which was given to Soviet intelligence agencies; it was active during the World War II period, until the entire group was exposed to the FBI ...
.
Momentum for the CIO-PAC came from the Smith–Connally Act or War Labor Disputes Act
[Malsberger, ''From Obstruction to Moderation: The Transformation of Senate Conservatism, 1938–1952'', 2000, p. 104.] (50 U.S.C. App. 1501 et seq.) was an American law passed on June 25, 1943, over President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's veto. The legislation was hurriedly created after 400,000 coal miners, their wages significantly lowered because of high wartime inflation,
struck Struck is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Adolf Struck (1877–1911), German author
*Hermann Struck (1876–1944), German artist
*Karin Struck (1947–2006), German author
*Paul Struck (1776-1820), German composer
*Peter Struc ...
for a $2-a-day wage increase.
The Act allowed the federal government to seize and operate industries threatened by or under strikes that would interfere with war production, and prohibited unions from making contributions in federal elections.
The war powers bestowed by the Act were first used in August 1944 when the
Fair Employment Practices Commission
The Fair Employment Practice Committee (FEPC) was created in 1941 in the United States to implement Executive Order 8802 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt "banning discriminatory employment practices by Federal agencies and all unions and comp ...
ordered the
Philadelphia Transportation Company
The Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) was the main public transit operator in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1940 to 1968. A private company, PTC was the successor to the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT), in operation since 19 ...
to hire
African-Americans as
motormen Motorman may refer to:
*Motorman (rail transportation), a rail vehicle operator
*Motorman (ship), a member of a ship's engine department responsible for maintaining the ship's systems
*Motorman (drilling), a member of an offshore drilling crew resp ...
. The 10,000 members of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Employees Union (PRTEU), a labor union unaffiliated with either the
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutu ...
or the
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in 1935 as a committee within the American Federation of ...
, led a
sick-out strike, now known as the
Philadelphia transit strike of 1944
The Philadelphia transit strike of 1944 was a sickout strike by white transit workers in Philadelphia that lasted from August 1 to August 6, 1944.
The strike was triggered by the decision of the Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC), made und ...
, for six days.
President Roosevelt sent 8,000
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
troops to the city to seize and operate the transit system, and threatened to draft any PRTEU member who did not return to the job within 48 hours.
Roosevelt's actions broke the strike.

In November 1946, prior to passage of the Smith–Connally Act, the CIO's second president,
Philip Murray appointed
John Brophy (a UMW leader, by then head of the CIO's director of Industrial Union Councils),
Nathan Cowan (CIO legislative director), and
J. Raymond Walsh
''J. The Jewish News of Northern California'', formerly known as ''Jweekly'', is a weekly print newspaper in Northern California, with its online edition updated daily. It is owned and operated by San Francisco Jewish Community Publications In ...
(CIO research director) to report on CIO political operations. Their report of December 1946 included recommendation for a permanent CIO national political group and consideration for formation of an American Labor Party. During CIO Executive Board meetings in January and February 1943, the board approved most recommendations.
Formation

Upon passage of the Smith–Connally Act on June 25, 1943, Murray called for a political action committee. The CIO-PAC formed in July 1943 to support the fourth candidacy of
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
for U.S. President in 1944 toward the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It also provided financial assistance to other CIO-endorsed political candidates and pro-labor legislation (e.g., continuation of the
Wagner Act against the
Taft–Hartley Act in 1947). CIO member unions funded it. Its first head was
Sidney Hillman, founder and head of the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, from 1943 to 1946.

First members of the CIO-PAC included the following:
*
Sidney Hillman, chairman (founder and head of the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America or ACW)
*
R. J. Thomas
Roland Jay Thomas (June 9, 1900 – April 18, 1967), also known as R. J. Thomas, was a left-wing leader of the American automobile workers union in the 1930s and 1940s. He grew up in eastern Ohio and attended the College of Wooster for t ...
, treasurer (president of the
United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico ...
or UAW)
* Vann Bittner, member (national organizer for the
United Mine Workers
The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...
or UMW)
* Sherman Dalrymple, member (president of the
United Rubber Workers) or URW)
*
Albert Fitzgerald, member (president of the
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America or UE)
*
David McDonald, member (secretary-treasurer of the
United Steel Workers of America
The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headqua ...
or USWA)
John Abt and Lee Pressman became the CIO-PAC's co-counsels.
Calvin Benham Baldwin
Calvin Benham Baldwin, also known as Calvin B Baldwin, C.B. Baldwin, and generally as "Beanie" Baldwin (August 19, 1902 – May 12, 1975), served as assistant to US Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace and administrator of the New Deal's Far ...
left government at that time to go work for the CIO-PAC. (By August 1948, the ''Washington Post'' had dubbed Baldwin along with
John Abt and
Lee Pressman
Lee Pressman (July 1, 1906 – November 20, 1969) was a labor attorney and earlier a US government functionary, publicly alleged in 1948 to have been a spy for Soviet intelligence during the mid-1930s (as a member of the Ware Group), following hi ...
(the latter two members of the Soviet underground
Ware Group involved in the
Hiss
Hiss or Hissing may refer to:
* Hiss (electromagnetic), a wave generated in the plasma of the Earth's ionosphere or magnetosphere
* Hiss (surname)
* ''Hissing'' (manhwa), a Korean manhwa series by Kang EunYoung
* Noise (electronics) or electroni ...
-
Chambers
Chambers may refer to:
Places
Canada:
* Chambers Township, Ontario
United States:
* Chambers County, Alabama
*Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County
*Chambers, Nebraska
* Chambers, West Virginia
*Chambers Township, Holt ...
Case) as "influential insiders" and "stage managers" in the
Wallace
Wallace may refer to:
People
* Clan Wallace in Scotland
* Wallace (given name)
* Wallace (surname)
* Wallace (footballer, born 1986), full name Wallace Fernando Pereira, Brazilian football left-back
* Wallace (footballer, born 1987), full name ...
presidential campaign.)
20th century
After 1944,
Lucy Randolph Mason
Lucy Randolph Mason (July 26, 1882 – May 6, 1959) was an American labor activist and suffragist. She was involved in the union movement, the consumer movement and the civil rights movement in the mid-20th century.
Early life
Lucy Rando ...
worked with the CIO-PAC in the South, helping to register union members, black and white, and working for the elimination of the
poll tax
A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources.
Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...
. She also forged lasting links between labor and religious groups.
On October 17, 1950,
New York State Supreme Court Judge
Ferdinand Pecora and US Senator
Herbert H. Lehman
Herbert Henry Lehman (March 28, 1878 – December 5, 1963) was an American Democratic Party politician from New York. He served from 1933 until 1942 as the 45th governor of New York and represented New York State in the U.S. Senate from 194 ...
(D-NY) gave radio addresses on behalf of the CIO-PAC during prime (10:30–11:15 pm.).
In 1955, when the CIO rejoined the
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutu ...
to form the
AFL–CIO,
Jack Kroll became head of the CIO-PAC, which merged with the AFL's "League for Political Education" to form the AFL–CIO
Committee on Political Education
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
.
21st century
PAC activities by AFL–CIO and its members continue into the 21st century. In 2015, an AFL–CIO's moratorium on federal PAC contributions by its member unions began to fall apart weeks after its announcement. Defiant unions included:
United Food and Commercial Workers, the
International Association of Machinists
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is an AFL–CIO/ CLC trade union representing approx. 646,933 workers as of 2006 in more than 200 industries with most of its membership in the United States and Canada.
Or ...
, and the
Laborers' International Union of North America–13% were non-compliant.
References
External sources
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{{Authority control
United States political action committees
Organizations established in 1943
1943 establishments in the United States
Organizations disestablished in 1955
1955 disestablishments in the United States