American Labour’s Cold War Abroad: From Deep Freeze to Detente, 1945-1970

528 Pages·2018·8.48 MB·English

by  Andrew Carew

AMERICAN
LABOUR’S
COLD WAR
ABROAD

A M E R I C A N
L A B O U R ’ S
C O L D W A R
A B R O A D
From Deep Freeze to Détente, 1945–1970
ANTHO NY CARE W
Copyright © 2018 Anthony Carew
Published by AU Press, Athabasca University
1200, 10011 – 109 Street, Edmonton, AB T5J 3S8
ISBN 978-1-77199-211-4 (cloth) 978-1-77199-212-1 (PDF) 978-1-77199-213-8 (epub)
doi: 10.15215/aupress/9781771992114.01
Cover design by Marvin Harder
Interior design by Sergiy Kozakov
Printed and bound in Canada by Friesens
Cover image: Irving Brown (second from the left), with Greek trade union leader Fotis
Makris (left), during a visit to Athens in January 1950 [detail]. Courtesy of the Special
Collections Department, University of Maryland.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Carew, Anthony, 1943–, author
American labour’s Cold War abroad : from deep freeze to détente, 1945–1970 /
Anthony Carew.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Issued in print and electronic formats.
1. AFL-CIO—History—20th century. 2. Labor unions—Political activity—United
States—History—20th century. 3. Labor unions—Europe—History—20th century.
4. Labor movement—United States—History—20th century. 5. Anti-communist
movements—United States—History—20th century. 6. Anti-communist movements—
Europe—History—20th century. 7. International labor activities—History—20th century.
8. Cold War. 9. United States—Foreign relations—1945–1989. I. Title.
HD8072.5.C37 2018 331.880973’09045 C2018-902151-9
C2018-902152-7
We acknowledge the financial assistance provided by the Government of Alberta
through the Alberta Media Fund.
This publication is licensed under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–
Noncommercial–NoDerivative Works 4.0 International: see www.creativecommons.org.
The text may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, provided that credit is given to
the original author. To obtain permission for uses beyond those outlined in the Creative
Commons license, please contact AU Press, Athabasca University, at
[email protected].
For Marilyn

Contents
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IX ◆ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS XI ◆
ABBREVIATIONS XV ◆ INTRODUCTION 3
1 Facing the Future—Labour’s World in 1945 9
2 Building Labour’s Anti-Communist Opposition in Europe 29
3 For Multilateralism or “Independent Activities”? 67
4 The AFL and CIO Abroad: From Rivalry to Merger 107
5 A Wedding Without a Honeymoon 149
6 Into the 1960s: Claiming a Second ICFTU Scalp 191
7 Who Speaks for American Labour? 237
8 Toward an Independent Role 277
9 Au Revoir Becomes Adieu 323
10 Conclusion: The “Cold War” Within the Cold War 341
ABBREVIATIONS USED IN NOTES 355 ◆ NOTES 359 ◆
BIBLIOGRAPHY 479 ◆ INDEX 495

Illustrations
Figure 1 Irving Brown, with Greek trade union leader Fotis Makris, during a
visit to Athens in January 1950
Figure 2 Vincent Tewson, general secretary of the TUC, 1946–60, delivering his
opening address at the ICFTU’s Stockholm congress in July 1953
Figure 3 Walter Reuther, Vincent Tewson, and George Meany, at the December
1952 meeting of the ICFTU executive board
Figure 4 Victor Reuther, the key figure in the CIO’s overseas operations
Figure 5 AFL representative Phil Delaney and Jay Lovestone in July 1953, at the
ICFTU congress in Stockholm
Figure 6 Relaxing over a hand of gin rummy, David Dubinsky and George
Meany
Figure 7 AFL-CIO Vice President Jim Carey, Victor Reuther, and Irving Brown,
at the ICFTU congress in Tunis, July 1957
Figure 8 Mike Ross, director of International Affairs for the CIO, 1945–55, and
for the AFL-CIO, 1957–63
Figure 9 Jaap Oldenbroek, general secretary of the ICFTU, 1949–60, in July
1953, at the ICFTU congress in Stockholm
Figure 10 Walter Reuther and George Meany, at the June 1960 meeting of the
ICFTU executive board, in Geneva
Figure 11 George Woodcock, the TUC’s general secretary, 1960–69, at a
reception in London in 1963
Figure 12 Ludwig Rosenberg, DGB president, 1962–69, with Henry Rutz and
Irving Brown
Figure 13 Omer Becu, the ICFTU’s general secretary, 1960–67
Figure 14 Walter Reuther and Arne Geijer, ICFTU president, 1957–65
Figure 15 Jef Rens, with Ludwig Rosenberg, in 1951
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doi: 10.15215/aupress/9781771992114.01
Figure 16 Bruno Storti, general secretary of CISL, 1958–76, and ICFTU
president, 1965–72
Figure 17 Harm Buiter, general secretary of the ICFTU, 1967–71, at a January
1961 conference of the European Trade Union Secretariat
Figure 18 Vic Feather, TUC general secretary, 1969–73, and Heinz-Oskar Vetter,
DGB chairman, 1969–82
x
doi: 10.15215/aupress/9781771992114.01