Orie Albert "Jack" Knight (September 24, 1902 – April 16, 1981) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

labor unionist. Born in

New Hampton, Iowa New Hampton is a city in, and the county seat of, Chickasaw County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,494 at the time of the 2020 census. History New Hampton was founded ''circa'' 1855. It is named after New Hampton, New Hampshire, the ...

, Knight worked in highway construction before moving to

East Chicago, Indiana East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census. The city is home of the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, an artificial freshwater harbor characterized by industrial and manufacturing ac ...

, to work for

Shell Oil Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yor ...

. He rose to become a stillman, and joined what became the

Oil Workers' International Union The Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union (OCAW) was a trade union in the United States which existed between 1917 and 1999. At the time of its dissolution and merger, the International represented 80,000 workers and was affiliated with the AFL� ...

. In 1933, he helped the union establish itself in

Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area, and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. First settled in the mid-19th century, it is one of the oldest cities of northern Lake County. As of the ...

, and he then began working full-time as a union organizer, mostly in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. In 1940, Knight was elected as president of the union, and under his leadership, its membership grew steadily. The union was affiliated to 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), and in 1947, he was elected as a vice-president of the CIO. He represented the CIO in the unity negotiations which produced the

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...

in 1955, becoming one of its vice-presidents, and also chair of its Interamerican Affairs Committee. At the same time, he merged the union into the new

Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers International Union The Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union (OCAW) was a trade union in the United States which existed between 1917 and 1999. At the time of its dissolution and merger, the International represented 80,000 workers and was affiliated with the AFL� ...

(OCAW), becoming the president of the largest oil or chemical workers' union in the world. In 1954, Knight became the founding president of the

International Federation of Petroleum Workers The International Federation of Petroleum and Chemical Workers (IFPCW) was a global union federation bringing together trade union representing workers in the chemical and oil industries. History The secretariat was established in 1954 at a meetin ...

. The only international trade secretariat based outside Europe, under his presidency, it began accepting unions of chemical workers, and expanded its membership to cover more than 500,000 workers. Knight retired as president of OCAW in 1965, and from his international role two years later. By this time, it had become known that the international was receiving regular grants from

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

funds, and it became regarded as a CIA front organization. He died in 1981.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Jack 1902 births 1981 deaths People from Mitchell County, Iowa Trade unionists from Iowa