Baruch Charney Vladeck (born Baruch Nachman Charney; January 13, 1886 – October 30, 1938) was an American

labor leader 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 benefits ( ...

, manager of ''

The Jewish Daily Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, '' ...

'' for twenty years, and a member of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

Biography

Early years

Baruch Charney was born January 13, 1886, in Dukor, a small village near

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

, in what is now

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

. His parents were Zev Volf and Brokhe Tsharni (née Hurwitz). His father, a fervent

Lubavitcher Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups ...

Hasid Ḥasīd ( he, חסיד, "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; plural "Hasidim") is a Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in his observ ...

, died in 1889, leaving his mother a widow with five sons (he was the fifth) and a daughter.Leyb Vaserman, "Niger, Shmuel,” in ''Leksikon fun der nayer yidisher literatur'', vol. 6, cols. 190–210 (New York, 1965)YIVO Encyclopedia Entry
/ref> Two of his older brothers also achieved renown: literary critic

Shmuel Niger Shmuel Niger (also Samuel Niger, pen name of Samuel Charney, 1883-1955) was a Yiddish writer, literary critic and historian and was one of the leading figures of Yiddish cultural work and Yiddishism in pre-revolution Russia. Life Shmuel Niger was ...

and Yiddish poet Daniel Charney. In the early 1900s, Baruch Charney was drawn to the revolutionary movement for the overthrow of the Tsarist autocracy, becoming an activist in the

Jewish Labour Bund The General Jewish Labour Bund in Lithuania, Poland and Russia ( yi, ‏אַלגעמײנער ייִדישער אַרבעטער־בונד אין ליטע, פּױלן און רוסלאַנד , translit=Algemeyner Yidisher Arbeter-bund in Lite, Poy ...

. As an underground revolutionary, open use of his real name was regarded as highly dangerous to both him and his family, so the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

"Vladeck" was adopted as a ''nom de guerre''."Vladeck, Practical Leader, Socialist Idealist, Dead at 52," ''The New Leader'' ew York vol. 21, no. 45 (November 5, 1938), pg. 8. Baruch Charney would use this as his surname for the rest of his life. Vladeck was arrested in 1904 for conducting a radical study circle for young workers,Zvi Gitelman, ''The Emergence of Modern Jewish Politics: Bundism and Zionism in Eastern Europe''. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2003; pg. 184. and was imprisoned for a total of 8 months as a result of this first arrest. He was arrested again in 1905 and faced an extensive exile in

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

, a fate from which he was saved by the outbreak of the

Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

and the political amnesties which accompanied that seminal event. The 1905 revolution ended in Tsarist restoration by 1907 and a period of reaction ensued. Vladeck came to feel that emigration to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

was his most realistic option. In 1908 he left Europe for North America, landing at

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...

, soon after which he began to immerse himself in the study of American history and culture.

American political activity

In America, Vladeck made use of his previous experience as a public speaker, traveling extensively for four years and giving public lectures on a variety of social, political, and economic topics. Vladeck joined the staff of the

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

'' in 1912 as manager of its

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

branch while also studying at the Teachers' College of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. In 1918 he became manager of the paper, and remained in that position until his death in 1938. He was also a member of the

National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...

. In 1917 Vladeck was elected to the New York Board of Aldermen as a

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

. He was defeated in 1921 but was re-elected in 1937 to the newly formed

running on the

American Labor Party The American Labor Party (ALP) was a political party in the United States established in 1936 that was active almost exclusively in the state of New York. The organization was founded by labor leaders and former members of the Socialist Party of ...

ticket. Vladeck was also at the forefront of establishing public housing for low-income residents and in 1934 was named by Mayor LaGuardia to the

New York City Housing Authority The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is a public development corporation which provides public housing in New York City, and is the largest public housing authority in North America. Created in 1934 as the first agency of its kind in the U ...

. In 1933 Vladeck laid the groundwork for the

Jewish Labor Committee The Jewish Labor Committee (JLC) is an American secular Jewish organization dedicated to promoting labor union interests in Jewish communities, and Jewish interests within unions. The organization is headquartered in New York City, with local/re ...

, which was formed by Jewish trade unionists, socialists, and kindred groups and individuals to oppose the rise of Nazism in Germany. The JLC had its founding convention the following February, in New York's Lower East Side; Vladeck was the organization's president from the convention until his death. He, together with Jewish trade union leaders, successfully convinced the

American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutu ...

to support a national boycott of German goods at the labor federation's 1933 convention.

Death and legacy

Vladeck died on October 30, 1938, at the age of 52 from a

coronary thrombosis Coronary thrombosis is defined as the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel of the heart. This blood clot may then restrict blood flow within the heart, leading to heart tissue damage, or a myocardial infarction, also known as a heart at ...

. His funeral procession through the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

and ending outside the Forward building drew 500,000 mourners. Among the speakers at the service were Governor

Herbert Lehman Herbert Henry Lehman (March 28, 1878 – December 5, 1963) was an American Democratic Party politician from New York. He served from 1933 until 1942 as the 45th governor of New York and represented New York State in the U.S. Senate from 1949 ...

, Mayor

Fiorello La Guardia Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fro ...

, Senator Robert F. Wagner and Socialist leader

Norman Thomas Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American Presbyterian minister who achieved fame as a socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America. Early years Thomas was the ...

. Vladeck's papers are housed at

Tamiment Library The Tamiment Library is a research library at New York University that documents radical and left history, with strengths in the histories of communism, socialism, anarchism, the New Left, the Civil Rights Movement, and utopian experiments. Th ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. Today the

Vladeck Houses Vladeck Houses is a public housing development built and maintained by the New York City Housing Authority on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Background The development is named after Baruch Charney Vladeck (1886–1938), who was general ...

public housing project on the

of Manhattan bear his name, as does nearby "Vladeck Park."Vladeck Park.
/ref> The

Amalgamated Housing Cooperative Amalgamated Housing Cooperative, originally the Amalgamated Cooperative Apartment House, is a pioneering American limited-equity cooperative apartment complex organized under the provisions of the ''Private Housing Finance'' (PVH) law, article IV ( ...

in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

contains a lecture hall named Vladeck Hall. Vladeck's son was civil rights lawyer Stephen C. Vladeck (1920–1979) and his daughter-in-law was renowned labor lawyer Judith Vladeck.

Footnotes

Sources consulted

# "B.C. Vladeck Dies; City Councilman," ''New York Times'', 31 Oct. 1938: p. 1. # "Half Million See Vladeck Funeral," ''New York Times'', 3 Nov. 1938: p. 28.

Works

* ''B. Vladeck in Leben un Shafen''. New York: Forverts, 1936.

External links

Finding Aid for the Baruch Charney Vladeck papers
Tamiment Library, New York University.

Our Campaigns.com biography.

* ttp://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/collections/exhibits/tam/JLC/3antinazi.html Labor and the Holocaust: The Jewish Labor Committee and the Anti-Nazi Struggle (Anti-Nazi Activity 1930s) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vladeck, Baruch, Charney 1886 births 1938 deaths American Ashkenazi Jews People from Puchavičy District Belarusian Jews Bundists Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Socialist Party of America politicians from New York (state) Jewish American people in New York (state) politics Jewish socialists University of Pennsylvania alumni Jewish American trade unionists