Edmund Victor Bobrowicz (May 1, 1919March 16, 2003) was an American

trade union 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 ...

activist and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

from the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Biography

Bobrowicz was born in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

, the son of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

immigrants. He served in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, in the South Pacific. In 1946, Bobrowicz (then working as a

union organizer A union organizer (or union organiser in Commonwealth spelling) is a specific type of trade union member (often elected) or an appointed union official. A majority of unions appoint rather than elect their organizers. In some unions, the orga ...

) ran successfully for the Democratic nomination for

Wisconsin's 4th congressional district Wisconsin's 4th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in Wisconsin, encompassing a part of Milwaukee County and including almost all of the city of Milwaukee (except the slivers of the c ...

, ousting incumbent Representative

Thaddeus Wasielewski Thaddeus Francis Boleslaw Wasielewski (December 2, 1904 – April 25, 1976) was an American lawyer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who spent six years as a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic United States House of Representatives, U.S. Repres ...

, who was accused of voting for anti-

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

legislation). Before the general election, however, Bobrowicz was accused by the ''

Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...

'' of secretly being a Communist and was subsequently expelled from the Democratic Party. Wasielewski, hoping to regain his seat, re-entered the race as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, but the two split the Democratic vote, allowing

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

John C. Brophy to win, with 49,144 votes to Bobrowicz' 44,398, Wasielewski's 38.502, and

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 ...

George Helberg's 2,470. Bobrowicz subsequently left politics and became a union official, working for 35 years as a representative of the

International Fur & Leather Workers Union The International Fur and Leather Workers Union (IFLWU), was a labor union that represented workers in the fur and leather trades. History The IFLWU was founded in 1913 and affiliated with the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Radical uni ...

and the

Amalgamated Meat Cutters The Amalgamated Meat Cutters (AMC), officially the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America, 1897–1979, was a labor union that represented retail and packinghouse workers. In 1979, the AMCBW merged with the Retail Clerks I ...

until his retirement in 1977. In 1987, he and his wife moved to Green Bay to be closer to family. He died at his home in Green Bay in 2003.

Electoral history

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic Primary, August 13, 1946 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 5, 1946 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 2, 1948

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bobrowicz, Edmund V. 1919 births 2003 deaths American trade union leaders American people of Polish descent Military personnel from Wisconsin Anti-communism in the United States Politicians from Milwaukee Wisconsin Democrats United States Army personnel of World War II