Lloyd McBride (March 16, 1916 – November 6, 1983) was an American
labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
leader and president of the
United Steelworkers 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 ...
from 1977 to 1983. He was on President Jimmy Carter's commission chaired by John G. Kemeny, President of Dartmouth College, to investigate the Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident in October of 1979.
Early life and union work
McBride was born in
Farmington, Missouri
Farmington is a city and the county seat of St. Francois County, Missouri, United States. It is in the Lead Belt region in Missouri. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 18,217. Farmington was established in 1822 a ...
, in 1916. His father was a painter at a
St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
steel fabricating mill. When he was 14 years old, he quit school to support his family at a 25-cents-an-hour job in the same plant.
In 1936, he became a member of
Steel Workers Organizing Committee The Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) was one of two precursor labor organizations to the United Steelworkers. It was formed by the CIO ( Committee for Industrial Organization) on June 7, 1936. It disbanded in 1942 to become the United Ste ...
Local 1295. The local
struck Struck is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Adolf Struck
Adolf Hermann Struck (1877–1911) was a German sightseer and writer. He is known for his Travel literature, travelogue ''Makedonische Fahrten'' and for surveying the ...
in 1937. McBride organized a
sitdown strike
A sit-down strike (or simply sitdown) is a labour strike and a form of civil disobedience in which an organized group of workers, usually employed at factories or other centralized locations, take unauthorized or illegal possession of the workpl ...
which was broken by police after only seven days. The broader strike continued for seven more weeks, and the workers were successful in winning a contract on their terms. McBride was elected president of his local by acclamation afterward.
McBride married Delores Neihaus in 1937. They had a son and a daughter.
McBride was elected president of the St. Louis Industrial Union Council in 1940, and president of the CIO Council for Missouri in 1942.
McBride served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
from 1943 to 1945.
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, McBride returned to Missouri and his union position. In 1958, the Steelworkers hired him to be director of the USW Sub-District based in
Granite City, Illinois
Granite City is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States, within the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. The population was 27,549 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in the Metro East and S ...
. In 1965, he was elected director of District 34.
USW presidency
McBride became a protégé of
I.W. Abel, the Steelworker president.
In 1977, Abel retired and McBride ran for the union presidency. McBride's opponent was
Edward Sadlowski Edward Sadlowski (September 10, 1938 – June 10, 2018) was an American labor activist associated with Steelworkers Fight Back, a rank-and-file movement against corruption in the international United Steelworkers of America union. Sadlowski became ...
, the young president of USW District 31. Sadlowski contended that McBride was too close to employers and not in touch with steelworkers. The campaign was a bitter one. McBride received the support of Abel and
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...
president
George Meany
William George Meany (August 16, 1894 – January 10, 1980) was an American labor union administrator for 57 years. He was a vital figure in the creation of the AFL–CIO and served as its first president, from 1955 to 1979.
Meany, the son of a ...
, while Sadlowski won the backing of
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer and political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a Perennial candidate, perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book '' ...
,
Victor Reuther,
John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through the ...
and General Motors heir
Stewart Rawlings Mott. McBride filed a lawsuit alleging that Sadlowski had received illegal campaign contributions, and Sadlowski filed a libel suit against McBride.The suit against Sadlowski established that more than 90% of the contributions received by Sadlowski came from outside the union, including the President of the Strite Rite Company and the General Counsel of Nissan Steel (Stride Rite had a long record of violations of labor law). The discovery of the extent of the outside involvement was broadcast to the membership and had a profound effect on the election. McBride went so far as to imply that Sadlowski was a
communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
: "I don't really know whether he is or isn't a Communist. But I do know he's in bed with left-wingers," McBride told supporters.
["U.S.W. Brawls, U.A.W Harmony," ''Time,'' January 17, 1977.] Sadlowski had the support of the Communist Party and the Socialist Workers Party. They, and other prominent liberal supporters joined the campaign to send a message to George Meany to stop supporting the Vietnam war. The union, after the election, established a rule prohibiting outside contributions to candidates which was challenged and decided in the union's favor by the United States Supreme Court.
In the end, McBride defeated Sadlowski 3-to-2 (328,000 to 249,000).
McBride strongly supported the Experimental Negotiations Agreement (ENA), a contract negotiated with steelmakers by President Abel which included a provision preventing the union from striking over economic terms—whether the contract was in force or had expired. However, high inflation drove wages much higher under the ENA, and steelmakers unilaterally canceled the agreement (as was their right) as the 1980 contract talks approached.
McBride was unable to negotiate strong national contracts for his members. He had a difficult time convincing steelworkers that the contracts reaches were the best he could achieve, and restive union members twice rejected contracts in 1983. Under McBride, the union agreed to cut wages and benefits for the first time since 1936. The average wage of $14.33 an hour was cut 8.7 percent in the first year, although a provision in the 1983 contract would restore that cut over the term of the 41-month agreement. He did not participate in the negotiations for either the 1980 or 1983 contract renewals.
McBride also presided over the union at a time of greatly diminishing membership. During his presidency, the Steelworkers lost nearly half its 1.4 million members due to offshoring and plant closings. McBride was a moderate who successfully resisted members' calls for militancy in the face of widespread steel industry unemployment and sharply increased pressure on wages and benefits. He also refused to collude with employers and implement a "business unionism" policy in order to secure high wages and job security for a limited number of members.
McBride had a history of heart disease. He was hospitalized three times from 1980 to 1983 for heart disease. A pacemaker was installed in February 1983. McBride underwent heart bypass surgery in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, on October 18, 1983. He was discharged from the hospital on November 1, and died in his sleep in the night of November 5 or early on November 6 at his home in
Whitehall, Pennsylvania.
Notes
References
*Fowler, Glenn. "Lloyd McBride, Steelworkers' Chief, Dies at 67 After Heart Surgery." ''New York Times.'' November 7, 1983.
*Hoerr, John P. ''And the Wolf Finally Came: The Decline of the American Steel Industry.'' Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1988.
*Mangum, Garth L. and McNabb, R. Scott. ''The Rise, Fall, and Replacement of Industrywide Bargaining in the Basic Steel Industry.'' New York: M.E. Sharpe, 1997.
*"No Go for Oilcan Eddie." ''Time.'' February 21, 1977.
*"U.S.W. Brawls, U.A.W Harmony." ''Time.'' January 17, 1977.
External links
United Steelworkers Web siteReport Of The President's Commission On The Accident at Three Mile Island.pdf– Report Of The President's Commission On The Accident at Three Mile Island
{{DEFAULTSORT:McBride, Lloyd
1916 births
1983 deaths
Trade unionists from Missouri
Presidents of United Steelworkers
People from Farmington, Missouri
Vice presidents of the AFL-CIO