Thomas, R. J. (Rolland Jay), 1900-1967
Name Entries
person
Thomas, R. J. (Rolland Jay), 1900-1967
Computed Name Heading
Name Components
Surname :
Thomas
Forename :
R. J.
NameExpansion :
Rolland Jay
Date :
1900-1967
eng
Latn
authorizedForm
rda
Genders
Male
Exist Dates
Biographical History
He became active in efforts to organize the automobile industry and was the president of Chrysler Local 7 when it affiliated with the United Auto Workers (UAW) in 1936. He was a leader of the 1937 Chrysler sit-down strike and that same year was elected a vice president of the UAW. He assumed the presidency in 1938 after the president, Homer Martin, was ousted.
He was president until 1946. During this period, the UAW developed into a dynamic, stable union. He lost the presidency to Walter Reuther in 1946, but was elected first vice president. Within the UAW, Thomas had led a CPUSA-affiliated faction that supported the Soviet Union, while Reuther led a liberal and progressive faction that opposed the Soviet Union. During the WWII and until 1946 in the UAW, the Communists had outnumbered the liberals in the Executive Committee; but by 1947, as U.S.-Soviet tensions grew, workers' support of the Communists waned. A series of bitter internal disputes led to Thomas losing the office of the vice presidency in the following year's election, with most of the leading Communists replaced, in what became known as "the biggest setback of all time for the Communists in the American Labor Movement." After his defeat in 1947, he was named assistant to Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) president Philip Murray. With the merger of the AFL and CIO in 1955, he served under George Meany until his retirement in 1964 due to ill health.
He was married to Mildred Wettergren on August 7, 1937. and they had one child, Frank. R. J. Thomas died in Muskegon, Michigan, in 1967.
eng
Latn
External Related CPF
https://viaf.org/viaf/63180575
https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n91014210
https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n91014210
https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7273727
https://viaf.org/viaf/17434562
Other Entity IDs (Same As)
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Internal CPF Relations
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Languages Used
eng
Latn
Subjects
Archival resources
Automobile industry and trade
Automobile industry workers
Interviews
Labor
Labor laws and legislation
Labor leaders
Labor movement
Labor unions
Labor unions
Labor unions
Labor unions and communism
Migrant labor
Oral history
Race relations
Sit-down strikes
Skilled labor
Strikes and lockouts
Wages
Working class
Nationalities
Americans
Activities
Occupations
Automobile industry workers
Union Leader
Union President
Legal Statuses
Places
Detroit
MI, US
AssociatedPlace
Residence
Muskegon
MI, US
AssociatedPlace
Death
Columbiana
OH, US
AssociatedPlace
Birth
Convention Declarations
<conventionDeclaration><citation>VIAF</citation></conventionDeclaration>