Born in 1928 in New York City, Julian Chazin earned a B.S. in Social Science from City College. In an effort to support his family, he moved to Buffalo and got a job in the Cold Strip Mill Department of the Lackawanna Plant of the Bethlehem Steel Company. In October 1957, he was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in Buffalo, where he invoked his Fifth Amendment privileges when asked if he had ever been a member of the Communist Party. This led first to his suspension, and later, on November 25th, his discharge from Bethlehem Steel on the grounds that he had falsified his job application by omitting mention of his college degree, and that his HUAC testimony indicated that he was a security risk. Chazin contested his dismissal through the grievance procedure of the United Steelworkers of America, Local 2604, of which he was a member. He won reinstatement in March 1958.
Chazin remained a progressive union activist, contesting anti-Communism in the USWA, and later opposing the Vietnam War.
From the guide to the Julian Chazin Papers, Bulk, 1957-1962, 1955-1989, (Bulk 1957-1962), (Tamiment Library / Wagner Archives)
