Arthur Abraham Rutledge (January 2, 1907September 1997) was an American

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

Early life

Rutledge was born Avrom Rotlieder in

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

, Poland on January 2, 1907. He moved to the United States in 1913, where he changed his name to Arthur Rutledge. When he was 14 years old he became a cabin boy on a ship that sailed between

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

and

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. In 1934 he stowed away on a ship and came to Hawaii after seeing a painting of the islands in a Seattle bar. He was sent back to Seattle to pay a $500 fine for bootlegging, but returned to Hawaii after paying his fine in 1938.

Career

In 1939 Rutledge became the chief officer of the Local 5, a healthcare and hospitality union. He also worked as a bartender, and led his first successful strike in 1941. He later also headed the local

Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the u ...

chapter. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he unsuccessfully ran for office. In the 1950s Rutledge was nearly deported because he had illegally immigrated to the United States, but was allowed to remain after Hawaii businessmen spoke out on his behalf and he was pardoned by Oren Long. He became a citizen in 1960. Rutledge founded Unity House, a nonprofit organization that supports Hawaii's workers, in 1951. Rutledge opened the Waikiki Marina in the 1970s. Richard Tam was elected head of the Local 5 in 1978, replacing Rutledge. In 1980 Rutledge was accused of murder, but the charge was later

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

when a witness testified that he had lied to the police. Rutledge was then summoned to Washington DC in 1982 as part of an investigation of the relationship between the unions he led and

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

. A Senate report concluded that organized crime had a "substantial influence" over the Local 5. Tam also filed several suits against Rutledge regarding Unity House's finances during this period. No longer head of the Local 5, Rutledge turned his focus to expanding the Teamster's union. Rutledge's son Tony became head of the Local 5 in 1986, and took control of Unity House in 1990. Art Rutledge died in 1997.

References

1907 births 1997 deaths American trade unionists of Polish descent Congress Poland emigrants to the United States Trade unionists from Hawaii {{DEFAULTSORT:Rutledge, Arthur

Early life

Career

Further reading

See also

References