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](_blank)
/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 ...
''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, '' ...
'' 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 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 ...
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 ...
at 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 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 ...
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.
Further reading
* Melech Epstein, ''Profiles of Eleven''. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1965.
* John Herling, "Baruch Charney Vladeck," in ''American Jewish Yearbook 41''. New York: American Jewish Committee, 1939–1940.
* Harold B. Hunting, "A Revolutionist Devoid of Hate," in ''Distinguished American Jews''. Philip Henry Lotz, ed. New York: Associated Press, 1945.
* Ephraim Jeshurin, ''B.C. Vladeck: Fifty Years of Life and Labor''. New York: 1932.
* Franklin L. Jonas, ''The Early Life and Career of B. Charney Vladeck''. Ph.D. dissertation, New York University, 1972.
* Brian Dolber, "Sweating for Democracy: Working Class Media and the Struggle for 'Hegemonic Jewishness,' 1919–1941." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2011.
* Brian Dolber, "Strange Bedfellows: Yiddish socialist radio and the collapse of broadcasting reform in the United States, 1927–1938." Historical Journal of Film, Television, and Radio, 2013, Vol. 33(2), 289–307.
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