William Silvis ( eng. William H. Sylvis ; September 28, 1828 , Armagh, Indiana , Pennsylvania ) 27, 1869 , Philadelphia, is a prominent figure in the American labor movement . A pioneer of the trade union movement in the United States who tried to unite workers of various professions into a single national trade union organization. journalist .
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Biography
Born into a working class family of Irish descent. From an early age he worked in a steel factory. Since 1857, he actively participated in the labor movement .
In the early 1860s, he became one of the organizers of the National Union of Steelworkers- Formers, and in 1863 he was elected its chairman. He actively promoted the involvement of the broad working masses in trade unions, was a supporter of the creation of a unified federation of trade unions.
In 1868 - Chairman of the National Workers' Union, established in 1866 at the national trade union congress in Baltimore . He advocated the creation of an international organization of the working class through the International Workingmen’s Association or the First International .
Proceeding from the fact that the interests of the workers and capitalists are irreconcilable, V. Silvis advocated the creation of a social system in which the profits created by labor would be distributed among the direct producers. Being a supporter of the active intervention of the labor movement in politics, he insisted on creating a workers' party.
Karl Marx highly appreciated the work of V. Silvis, calling him an honest, experienced and persistent leader of the workers.
Literature
- Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M .: Soviet encyclopedia. 1969-1978.
- Soviet historical encyclopedia. - M .: Soviet encyclopedia. Ed. E.M. Zhukova. 1973-1982;
- Foner P., A History of the Labor Movement in the USA. From colonial times to the 80s. XIX century., Trans. from English, M., 1949, p. 390-95, 418-66;
- Zubok LI, Essays on the history of the labor movement in the United States. 1865-1918, M., 1962, p. 36-73;
- Sylvis W., The life, speeches, labors and essays, Phil., 1872; (eng.)
- Todes Ch., William H. Sylvis and the National Labor Union, NY, 1942 ; (eng.)
- Grossman J., W. Sylvis - pioneer of American labor, NY, 1945. (eng.)