Saul, George James, 1897-1967.

Labor activist, union organizer, social theorist and Trotskyite.

George Saul was active in the union movement during the 1920's, 1930's, and early 1940's. During this period, Saul was involved in a number of significant struggles between labor and capital, including the I.W.W.-led strike of miners against the Rockefeller owned Colorado Fuel and Iron Company in 1927 and the communist-led strike of textile workers in Gastonia, N.C. in 1929. He was also involved in organizing Ford employees in Detroit in the 1930's and early 1940's. While a member of the United Automobile Workers (CIO), Saul was constantly at odds with the union leadership and, as a result, left the union movement shortly after the end of World War II. Saul was also active in the Communist Party during the 1920's, turning to Trotskyism in the 1930's because of disagreements with the party leadership over tactics and general principles.