Victor A. Olander (November 28, 1873 – February 5, 1949) was an American labor union leader. Born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Olander began working as a sailor when he was fourteen years old. While serving on the Great Lakes, he studied the law relating to seafarers. In 1899, he joined the Lake Seamen's Union, an affiliate of the

International Seamen's Union The International Seamen's Union (ISU) was an American maritime trade union which operated from 1892 until 1937. In its last few years, the union effectively split into the National Maritime Union and Seafarer's International Union. The early yea ...

(ISU). In 1901, Olander was elected as business agent of the Lake Seamen, then as assistant secretary in 1903, and as secretary in 1909. In 1902, he was additionally elected as the vice-president of the ISU. In 1914, he added the post of secretary-treasurer of the Illinois Federation of Labor, while during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was also on the National War Labor Board and the Illinois State Council of Defense. Olander started losing his sight in 1916, and by 1920, he was completely blind. He stood down from his post with the Lake Seamen, but retained his other roles. His sight was restored by an operation in 1924. In 1925, he was elected as secretary-treasurer of the ISU, serving until 1936, and in 1927, he became secretary of the resolutions committee of 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 mutual ...

, serving for six years. Olander died in 1949, while still holding his Illinois Federation of Labor post.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Olander, Victor 1873 births 1949 deaths American blind people American trade union leaders Activists from Chicago Trade unionists from Illinois