Gus Tyler
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August Tyler (1911-2011) was an American
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 ...
activist of the 1930s, a
labor 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 ( ...
official, author, and newspaper columnist. Tyler is best remembered as a leading American labor intellectual of the post-World War II era and as the author of a history of the
International Ladies Garment Workers Union The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), whose members were employed in the Clothing#Gender differentiation, women's clothing industry, was once one of the largest trade union, labor unions in the United States, one of the firs ...
.


Biography


Early years

August Tyler was born Augustus Tilove to Jewish immigrants in
Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, on October 18, 1911."Gus Tyler, Labor Activist and Forward Columnist, Is Dead at 99,"
''Jewish Daily Forward'', June 5, 2011.
He later changed his surname in honor of
Wat Tyler Wat Tyler (c. 1320/4 January 1341 – 15 June 1381) was a leader of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in England. He led a group of rebels from Canterbury to London to oppose the institution of a poll tax and to demand economic and social reforms. Wh ...
, the leader of the English
Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...
in 1381. Tyler was the product of a radical upbringing, as he later recalled in a 1988 interview with ''
New York Newsday ''New York Newsday'' was an American daily newspaper that primarily served New York City and was sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The paper, established in 1985, was a New York City-specific offshoot of ''Newsday'', a Long Island- ...
:''
As far as my mother was concerned, socialism was what God ordained. You didn't learn it from
Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 p ...
or anybody; it was just the natural thing. People are people and they shouldn't be rich and they shouldn't be poor. I just thought this was the way you live. You're supposed to be a socialist and ultimately the whole world goes socialist.Douglas Martin
"Gus Tyler, Firebrand of Labor Movement, Dies at 99,"
''New York Times'', June 12, 2011, pg. A32.
Tyler attended
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 ...
on a scholarship in the early 1930s, where he became involved in
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
political activities, including public speaking on street corners on behalf of the Young People's Socialist League (YPSL), the youth section of the
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
.Gus Tyler
"Throats in Trouble,"
''Jewish Daily Forward,'' August 1, 2008.
Upon graduating in 1932, Tyler briefly worked as a writer for the
Yiddish-language Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
socialist newspaper ''
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, '' ...
''. He also served as editor of ''Free Youth,'' one of the YPSL's short-lived publications of the early 1930s. Tyler rose through the ranks of the YPSL, rising to the top leadership position in the group. This post gave Tyler a seat with top leaders of the adult party, making him a key leader in the bitter factional war that occupied the Socialist Party in that period. Tyler was a supporter of the so-called "
Militant faction The Militant faction was an organized grouping of Marxists in the Socialist Party of America (SPA) who sought to steer that organization from its orientation towards electoral politics and towards direct action and revolutionary socialism. The fa ...
" of the Socialist Party against the older generation of party regulars known as the Old Guard and was later active in the far-left "Clarity caucus" after the Militants themselves fragmented. Along with many on the American left, Tyler was a vigorous opponent of rearmament for a new World War, authoring a resolution which declared the Socialist Party would support no war except a war for socialism.Shannon, ''The Socialist Party'', pg. 252. In making this pronouncement Tyler reasoned that the distinction between democratic-capitalist and
fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
countries would be essentially meaningless in the event of war since the militarization of society inherent in the act of going to war would reduce the democratic nations themselves to reactionary dictatorships. Tyler declared that the only course for the Socialist Party was to organize the dissident forces created by a new war in order to "smash the capitalist system." He condemned the ongoing agitation for
collective security Collective security can be understood as a security arrangement, political, regional, or global, in which each state in the system accepts that the security of one is the concern of all, and therefore commits to a collective response to threats t ...
against fascism being preached by the
Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
and many liberals, as "asking the working class to sign a blanket check even before a war, endorsing support in the event of war." The Socialist Party imploded in a frenzy of factional warfare during the second half of the 1930s, with the party's Old Guard right wing leaving to form the
Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James Con ...
(established in 1936) and the
Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
left wing expelled en masse to form the Socialist Workers Party (established in 1938). With its membership and funds depleted, many activists in the Socialist Party were forced to turn their efforts elsewhere.


Union career

Tyler's intelligence and commitment seems to have caught the attention of
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), whose members were employed in the women's clothing industry, was once one of the largest labor unions in the United States, one of the first U.S. unions to have a primarily female membe ...
(ILGWU) president
David Dubinsky David Dubinsky (; born David Isaac Dobnievski; February 22, 1892 – September 17, 1982) was a Belarusian-born American labor leader and politician. He served as president of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) between 1932 ...
.Robert E. Lazar
"Guide to the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. Gus Tyler. Assistant President's records, 1952-1980,''
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library, 1981.
Despite the fact that Dubinsky was himself a stalwart of the Socialist Party's Old Guard, Tyler was offered a staff job with the ILGWU in its education department. Tyler held a succession of positions in the union rising in 1945 to the post of Assistant President, a position he held until his retirement in 1989. In an autobiographic essay, Tyler once noted that his career in the ILGWU was interrupted by the war. "When I returned from my stint as an aerial gunner, I suggested to Dubinsky that the union create a full-time political department. He argued that no union had such a department. I told him he had a reputation as an innovator. He was flattered. I got the job." Tyler later worked with the ILGWU's successor union,
UNITE Unite may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Unite'' (A Friend in London album), 2013 album by Danish band A Friend in London * ''Unite'' (Kool & the Gang album), 1993 * ''Unite'' (The O.C. Supertones album), 2005 Songs ...
, as an assistant to the president, and for many years hosted his own radio program on station
WEVD WEVD was an American brokered programming radio station with some news-talk launched in August 1927 by the Socialist Party of America. Making use of the initials of recently deceased party leader Eugene Victor Debs in its call sign, the statio ...
(a radio station owned by The Forward Association and named after
Eugene Victor Debs Eugene Victor "Gene" Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American socialist, political activist, trade unionist, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and five times the candidate of the Soc ...
) in New York. When the English-language version of the ''Forward'' launched in 1990, Tyler began writing for the publication, penning a weekly column in the paper until 2006. Tyler authored several works of historical scholarship, including a 1995 history of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union published by the noted academic publisher M. E. Sharpe. As a leading
public intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...
, Tyler wrote prolifically. He continued to write a periodic column for ''
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, '' ...
'' entitled "Tyler Too" well into his 90s.


Death and legacy

Gus Tyler died on June 3, 2011, in
Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...
, at the age of 99. He was survived by two children and three grandchildren. Tyler, it was recalled in ''The New York Times'' at the time of his death, "tumbled through life like a
Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; 10 July 1915 – 5 April 2005) was a Canadian-born American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only wr ...
character, full of analytic thought and urban vitality. He wore multifarious hats: pamphleteer, professor and poet, but insisted on defining himself with a single word: agitator. ... His most powerful weapons were words, in books, newspaper columns, radio commentaries and speeches he wrote for labor chieftains." Tyler's papers are included in several collections at th
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
in
Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named a ...
.


Works

* ''The United Front.'' New York: Rand School Press, 1933. * ''Life of Karl Marx.'' Chicago: Young People's Socialist League, Educational Dept., n.d. . 1934 * ''An Outline of Socialist Economics.'' Chicago: Young People's Socialist League, Educational Dept., n.d.
930s The 930s decade ran from January 1, 930, to December 31, 939. Significant people * Al-Muqtadir * Constantine VII * Pope John XI * Pope Leo VII * Al-Qahir * Al-Radi * Al-Ash'ari Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī (; full name: ''Abū al-Ḥa ...
* ''The Elements of Revolutionary Socialism.'' Chicago: Educational Dept., Young People's Socialist League of America, n.d. . 1936 * ''Youth Fights War!'' Chicago: Young Peoples Socialist League, n.d. . 1936 * ''A New Philosophy for Labor.'' New York,
Fund for the Republic The Fund for the Republic (1951–1959) was an organization created by the Ford Foundation and dedicated to protecting freedom of speech and other civil liberties in the United States. In 1959, the Fund moved from New York City to Santa Barbara, ...
, 1959. * ''A Legislative Campaign for a Federal Minimum Wage, 1935.'' New York: Henry Holt, 1959. * ''Organized Crime in America: A Book of Readings.'' Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 1962. * ''Combating Organized Crime.'' Philadelphia: American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1963. * ''The Labor Revolution: Trade Unions in a New America.'' New York: Viking Press, 1967. * ''The Political Imperative: The Corporate Character of Unions.'' New York: Macmillan, 1968. * ''The Jewish Labor Movement: A Living Legacy.'' New York: Nathan Chanin Cultural Foundation, n.d.
960s The 960s decade ran from January 1, 960, to December 31, 969. Significant people * Abd al-Rahman III caliph of Córdoba * Otto I of Holy Roman empire * Al-Muti caliph of Baghdad * Al-Hakam II caliph of Córdoba * Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah of Fatim ...
* ''Labor in the Metropolis.'' Columbus, OH: C.E. Merrill Publishing Co., 1972. * ''Mexican-Americans Tomorrow: Educational and Economic Perspectives.'' Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1975. * ''Scarcity: A Critique of the American Economy.'' New York: Quadrangle/New York Times Book Co., 1976. * ''George Meany: The Making of a Freedom Fighter.'' New York: 85th Birthday Tribute to George Meany Committee, 1979. * ''The Threat of Conservatism.'' With Peter Steinfels and
Irving Howe Irving Howe (; June 11, 1920 – May 5, 1993) was an American literary and social critic and a prominent figure of the Democratic Socialists of America. Early years Howe was born as Irving Horenstein in The Bronx, New York. He was the son o ...
. New York: Foundation for the Study of Independent Social Ideas, 1980. * ''The Power of Money in American Politics.'' With Fred Wertheimer and David Cohen. New York: Aspen Institute for Humanisitc Studies, 1982. * ''The Work Ethic: A Critical Analysis.'' With Jack Barbash, Robert J. Lampman, and Sar A. Levitan. Madison, WI: Industrial Relations Research Association, 1983. * ''Look for the Union Label: A History of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.'' Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1995. * ''A Vital Voice: 100 Years of the Jewish Forward.'' New York: Forward Association, 1997


References


Further reading

* Sam G. Riley
"Gus Tyler,"
in ''Biographical Dictionary of American Newspaper Columnists.'' Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995; pp. 331–332.


External links

* Douglas Martin

''New York Times'', June 12, 2011, pg. A32. * Robert E. Lazar

Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library, 1981. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyler, Gus 1911 births 2011 deaths Activists from New York City 20th-century American Jews Members of the Socialist Party of America American socialists American Marxists American trade unionists International Ladies Garment Workers Union leaders 21st-century American Jews