Ross Rieder was a labor activist and historian from

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

Biography

Ross K. Rieder was born in 1940 in

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the state's 11th most populous city. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The ...

, to Frances Rieder and Rolla Rieder, Sr. He spent his childhood in Yakima,

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, and San Jose. In 1962, he graduated from Linfield College with a degree in music education. In 1962, Rieder began teaching music and eighth grade chorus at Evergreen Junior High School in

Everett, Washington Everett (; ) is the county seat and most populous city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the Seattle metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett ...

. He became involved in his union, the Everett Federation of Teachers (

American Federation of Teachers The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the second largest teacher's labor union in America (the largest being the National Education Association). The union was founded in Chicago. John Dewey and Margaret Haley were founders. About 60 pe ...

, Local 722). He served as president of the Washington State Federation of Teachers from 1968-1975. After his term as WSFT president, Rieder continued his career in the labor movement. From 1977 to 1979, he worked as a negotiator and organizer for the

International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, Local 17, and he was Political Action Director at the Washington State Labor Council from 1979 to 1986. He worked as an organizer for the Snohomish County Labor Council from 1991 to 1997. Rieder was also involved in the production of numerous publications and media programs about the labor movement and its history. In 1977, Rieder worked with

Ottilie Markholt Ottilie Markholt (February 25, 1916 – November 25, 2004) was an American trade unionist, labor historian, and political activist who spent most of her life in Tacoma, Washington. At different points in her life, Markholt was a member of the C ...

and a group of local labor activists and historians to establish the Pacific Northwest Labor History Association. Rieder was elected the PNLHA's first president, and he remained in that role until his retirement in 2015. As president, he produced the PNLHA's newsletter "Urban Work," led the PNLHA in sponsoring an annual labor stage at the Northwest Folklife Festival, oversaw annual conferences, produced the PNLHA's annual labor history calendar, and produced labor history walking tours in Seattle and Tacoma. Rieder retired from the PNLHA in 2015. He died on December 14, 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rieder, Ross 1940 births 2021 deaths Linfield University alumni American Federation of Teachers people People from Yakima, Washington People from Everett, Washington American radio personalities Labor historians 20th-century American historians 21st-century American historians Historians from Washington (state) American male non-fiction writers Trade unionists from Washington (state)

Biography

Further reading

See also

References