George Baldanzi (January 23, 1907 – April 16, 1972) was an American trade unionist. He was the founding executive vice president of the

Textile Workers Union of America The Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA) was an industrial union of textile workers established through the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1939 and merged with the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America to become the Amalgamated Clo ...

(TWUA), and had a rivalry with

Emil Rieve Emil Rieve (June 8, 1892 – January 24, 1975)Saxon, "Emil Rieve, Unionist, Dies," ''New York Times,'' January 26, 1975. was an American labor leader. He was president of the Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA) from 1939 to 1956, a vice preside ...

, the founding president of the organization. This rivalry led to his ouster from the TWUA in 1952, after which he joined the United Textile Workers of America as national organizing director. Following the merger of 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 ...

(AFL) and the

Congress of Industrial Organizations The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in 1935 as a committee within the American Federation of ...

(CIO) into the AFL-CIO in 1958, Baldanzi was president of the

United Textile Workers of America The United Textile Workers of America (UTW) was a North American trade union established in 1901. History The United Textile Workers of America was founded following two conferences in 1901 under the aegis of the American Federation of Labor (AFL ...

from 1958 until his death in 1972.

Early career

Baldanzi began his work in trade unionism by founding the Dyers Foundation, a textile workers union that would eventually expand into the AFL-affiliated United Textile Workers. Baldanzi was, with Emil Rieve, one of the founding members of the Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA) in 1939. He had been elected president of the original United Textile Workers of America (UTWA) when its previous president, Frank Gorman had been removed. Rieve was elected as president of the TWUA, and Baldanzi served as the organization's executive vice president. He also served as the chairman of the CIO's Italian-American Trade Union committee during World War II.

Operation Dixie

Baldanzi was an advocate for organizing textile workers in the Southern United States, arguing with Northern delegates at the CIO's convention that they should not be seen as invading. When the CIO decided to launch an organizing campaign in the South, dubbed ''Operation Dixie'', Baldanzi was named its deputy director, serving with director Van Bittner. Baldanzi was made the leader of the CIO's Southern Organizing Committee in August 1949 upon Bittner's death. Baldanzi spent time organizing in the South before this, and organizers under his direction had made progress as early as 1942 in

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, located in the Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River. It was a center of tobacco production and was an area of Confederate activity ...

and

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

that contributed to his reputation within the TWUA. While Bittner worked from

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Baldanzi chose to operate out of

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

because it was close to many textile plants.

Break with Rieve

Baldanzi was re-elected executive vice president of the TWUA by the delegates at the union's convention in 1950. Rieve and those allied to him tried to convince delegates not to re-elect Baldanzi because the two were unable to work together. Following the 1952 convention, Baldanzi signed as national organizing director for the UTWA, which was affiliated with the AFL. Following his decision, between 25,000 and 35,000 members left the TWUA. Baldanzi's separation from the TWUA also caused a decrease of the organization's effectiveness in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, since the union had to use its resources to prevent Southern textile workers from following Baldanzi to the AFL.

Personal life

Baldanzi and his wife, Lena Parenti, had one son Georgino. Baldanzi died at his home in

Hawthorne, New Jersey Hawthorne is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 18,791

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baldanzi, George 1907 births 1972 deaths People from Paterson, New Jersey People from Hawthorne, New Jersey Trade unionists from New Jersey Leaders of the United Textile Workers of America American people of Italian descent American trade union leaders