Robert Fechner (March 22, 1876 – December 31, 1939) was a national labor union leader and director of the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

(1933–39), which played a central role in the development of state and national parks in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Born in

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, with only a public school elementary education he rose to become an American

labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

leader and vice president of the International Association of Machinists. He had a reputation for fairness, tact, and patience in all his dealings.Wirth, Conrad L. ''Parks Politics, and the People''. University of Oklahoma Press. 1980. p. 80 On April 5, 1933 he was appointed by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

to be the Director of the

(CCC). It was Fechner's fairness and ability for organization and administration that impressed the president to his appointment as director. Although he had been an important labor figure, Fechner objected to attempts of union organizers to form unions among CCC enrollees in the camps. He felt that the government was doing all it possibly could for the well-being of the enrollees: well fed, supporting dependents with monthly earnings, getting an education; and they were contributing in a constructive manner to the conservation needs of the nation. The need for a union in this situation was not necessary, and he issued orders to keep union organizers out of the CCC camps and gave instructions that if any of the CCC enrolees joined a union they were to be discharged.Wirth, Conrad L. ''Parks Politics, and the People''. University of Oklahoma Press. 1980. pp. 80, 82. Upon Fechner's death in office, he was succeeded as CCC Director by James McEntee.Staff report (January 1, 1940). Robert Fechner, Head of CCC, Dies; Director Since Its Founding Was Ex-Vice President of the International Machinists. Roosevelt Praises Work. Administrative Ability and Vision Cited, His Death Is Called Loss to Nation. ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''Fechner's likeness appeared on the cover of ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine on February 6, 1939. He was buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

References

External links

Into the Woods: The First Year of the Civilian Conservation Corps

in Arlington National Cemetery {{DEFAULTSORT:Fechner, Robert 1876 births 1939 deaths American trade union leaders Civilian Conservation Corps people People from Chattanooga, Tennessee International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers people Burials at Arlington National Cemetery