Carl Blum was born in Brooklyn and joined Local 1511 of the International Brotherhood of Painters in 1945. He got a job as a woodfinisher at Bergen Cabinet. He was first appointed by the members to participate in contract negotiations in 1950, and he soon became a spokesman for the hardwood finishers in Brooklyn and Queens.
In 1962, Blum attended a protest meeting where painters from the various locals aired their grievances. At this meeting he met Frank Schonfeld, a leader of the opposition movement in the District Council of Painters, and they made common cause. As the leader of the Hardwood Finishers Club, one of many rank-and-file groups organizing within the Painters' union, Blum participated in the various efforts to oust the union's leadership.
These efforts escalated in 1966 after the indictment of one union leader for bribery and extortion. A government-supervised election was held in which Blum and others from the opposition in the District Council ran their own candidates. Frank Schonfeld was elected, and he appointed Carl Blum as his Administrative Aide. Schonfeld fired Blum in 1971 and he eventually became a General Representative for the International.
From the guide to the Carl Blum Papers, 1964-1994, (Tamiment Library / Wagner Archives)
