Jack Kroll (June 10, 1885 – May 26, 1971) was a 20th-century

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 leader, vice president (1928–1966) of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACW) under Sidney Hillman, affiliated throughout with either the

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

or CIO or merged AFL–CIO, head of the

CIO-PAC The first-ever "political action committee" in the United States of America was the Congress of Industrial Organizations – Political Action Committee or CIO-PAC (1943–1955). What distinguished the CIO-PAC from previous political groups (inclu ...

(1946–1955), and was close to U.S. Presidents

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

and

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

Background

Jack Kroll was born in London, United Kingdom, on June 10, 1885 and came with his family to the United States of America in 1886. He became an American citizen in 1892 and studied in public schools in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, from 1890 to 1900.

Career

In 1901, Kroll became a clothing cutter, first in Rochester, then in Chicago in 1901. By 1910, he had become a volunteer labor organizer. In 1920, he joined the

Amalgamated Clothing Workers Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) was a United States labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Congress of Ind ...

(ACW), founded in 1914 by Sidney Hillman. He worked in the New York City office. By 1928, Kroll had become ACW vice president. In 1946, he succeeded Hillman as chair of the

. When the CIO reunited with the AFL to form the AFL–CIO in 1955, Kroll became co‐director of AFL–CIO

Committee on Political Education A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

. In addition to his national role, Kroll was an early member of the board of directors of a Democrat-Republican " City Charter Committee" in Cincinnati as well as president of the Ohio CIO council (1932–1952).

Personal and death

In 1920, Jack Kroll married Sara Sylvia Ruben, whom he had met the year before on a picket line. He was a member of

Histadrut Histadrut, or the General Organization of Workers in Israel, originally ( he, ההסתדרות הכללית של העובדים בארץ ישראל, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center ...

(Zionist labor organization). He was also of Rockdale Temple in Cincinnati. Kroll died age 85 in Cincinnati, Ohio, survived by his wife, son, and five grandchildren.

Legacy

Kroll was the "political arm" of Sidney Hillman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kroll, Jack 1885 births 1971 deaths American trade union leaders American Labor Party politicians American trade unionists of English descent Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America people English emigrants to the United States People from Rochester, New York Trade unionists from New York (state)

Background

Career

Personal and death

Legacy

See also

References