Edward Robert Garvey (April 18, 1940 – February 22, 2017) was an American lawyer, activist, and Democratic politician from

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. He was executive director of the

National Football League Players Association The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is the labor unions in the United States, labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by executive directo ...

(players' union) from 1971 to 1983. He also ran unsuccessfully for United States Senate ( 1986 and 1988) and Governor of Wisconsin (

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

). Later in life he organized the first "Fighting Bob Fest", an annual gathering of progressive activists in Wisconsin.

Background

Garvey graduated from the University of Wisconsin (now the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

) and spent two years in the U.S. Army; he then returned to Madison and entered the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Public university, public research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1868, the school is guided by a ...

, where he earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree.

Law and union work

Soon after graduation, Garvey joined Lindquist & Vennum, a

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

. The firm worked for the

(NFLPA), the labor organization representing the professional American football players in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL), and in 1970 Garvey was assigned to counsel union president John Mackey regarding negotiations on a new four year

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

with the league's owners. Garvey was later offered the position of executive director in the now-certified NFLPA in 1971. Garvey served as its executive director until 1983, through two

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...

s (in 1974 and 1982) and frequently invoking

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

legislation in his many court battles with the league. Garvey directed the NFLPA though a series of court battles that led, in 1975, to the ruling in Mackey v. NFL that antitrust laws applied to the NFL's restrictions on player movement. In 1976, armed with leverage regarding player movement from team to team, Garvey and the union won major concessions from the owners. Garvey's negotiations with the league exchanged the players' threat of pursuing a system of unfettered free agency for an improved package of player benefits. The NFLPA became recognized by the owners as a full-fledged

National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces United States labor law, U.S. labor law in relation to collect ...

union, and damages totaling $13.65 million were awarded to past and present players for antitrust violations against them.

After leaving the NFLPA

After leaving the NFLPA, Garvey served as deputy

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

under Bronson La Follette, serving as the number-two official in the Wisconsin Department of Justice and specializing in

environmental issues Environmental issues are disruptions in the usual function of ecosystems. Further, these issues can be caused by humans (human impact on the environment) or they can be natural. These issues are considered serious when the ecosystem cannot recov ...

. Garvey also became a prominent leader with Wisconsin labor groups, particularly the Paperworkers Union (now United Steelworkers) in contract disputes with

International Paper The International Paper Company is an American pulp and paper company, the largest such company in the world. It has approximately 39,000 employees, and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. History The company was incorporated January 31 ...

. He organized the Fighting Bob Fest, named for Robert M. La Follette

Political career

In 1986, Garvey ran for the U.S. Senate from Wisconsin, losing to Republican incumbent

Bob Kasten Robert Walter Kasten Jr. (born June 19, 1942) is an American Republican politician from the state of Wisconsin who served as a U.S. Representative from 1975 to 1979 and as a United States Senator from 1981 to 1993. Background Kasten was born ...

by a small margin after a very bitter election. In an unsuccessful bid for Wisconsin governor in 1998 against three-term

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Tommy Thompson Tommy George Thompson (born November 19, 1941) is an American politician who served as the 19th United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2001 to 2005 in the Presidency of George W. Bush, cabinet of President of the United State ...

, Garvey sought to highlight campaign finance reform and limited contributions to his campaign to a fixed amount per donor. Thompson won by a wide margin. Garvey was the editor and publisher of the political website FightingBob.com, which focused on Wisconsin and national issues from a progressive perspective. He regularly appeared on the local NPR national public radio affiliate

WHAD WHAD (90.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is a non-commercial educational station, non-commercial, listener-supported public radio radio station, station. It is city of license, licensed to Delafield, Wisconsin, and serves sections of Greater Milwaukee a ...

to provide a progressive viewpoint on a variety of topics.

Death

Garvey died of complications from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

at a nursing home in Verona, Wisconsin.Longtime political activist Ed Garvey has died
/ref>

Electoral history

U.S. Senate (1986)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic Primary, September 9, 1986 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 4, 1986

U.S. Senate (1988)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic Primary, September 13, 1988

Wisconsin Governor (1998)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic Primary, September 8, 1998 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 3, 1998

References

Sources

*
Archived FightingBob, Garvey's blog.
!-- 2023-02 .com dead, fightingbobfest.org is now domain-squatter -->

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Garvey, Ed 1940 births 2017 deaths National Football League Players Association executive directors Minnesota lawyers People from Burlington, Wisconsin United States Army soldiers Military personnel from Wisconsin University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Wisconsin lawyers Wisconsin Democrats Trade unionists from Wisconsin 20th-century American lawyers