George Medrick, born in Yugoslavia in 1893, emigrated to the U.S. in 1903 and began work in the mines of Fairmont, West Virginia, the following year. He joined the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) in 1906 and by 1922 was appointed an international representative and a UMWA organizer in Kentucky and West Virginia. The late 1920s was marked by decreased demand for coal and sharply lower prices. The Bituminous Coal Strike of 1927 was the largest strike in the region that included Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and southern Illinois. In these years Medrick brought a "top down" UMWA approach to organizing miners in Allegheny, Fayette, and Westmoreland counties in western Pennsylvania. In 1936, the steelworker organizer and later president of the United Steelworkers of America (USWA), Philip Murray, selected Medrick as one of his assistants. Medrick, later, became Director of the Bethlehem Steel Organizing Committee (SWOC). When the USWA was created in 1942, Medrick was chosen as Director of District 11 in the Harrisburg area, holding that post until his retirement in 1963.
From the description of George Medrick papers, 1922-1964. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 435551728
