James O'Connell (August 22, 1858 – October 30, 1936) was an American labor union leader. Born in Minersville, Pennsylvania, O'Connell completed an apprenticeship as a machinist, then went to work as a machinist on the railroads. He joined the Knights of Labor, and from 1889 to 1891 worked for the union in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

as a lobbyist. In about 1890, he joined what became the

International Association of Machinists The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is an AFL–CIO/ CLC trade union representing approx. 646,933 workers as of 2006 in more than 200 industries with most of its membership in the United States and Canada. Or ...

, and in 1891, he was elected to its executive. In 1893, O'Connell was elected as Grand Master Machinist, leader of the union, continuing in the post after it was renamed "president" in 1899. In his early years with the union, its headquarters moved periodically, and he relocated first to Chicago, and then in 1900 to Washington DC. The Machinists were affiliated to 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 in 1896, O'Connell was elected as one of the federation's vice presidents. In 1899, he represented the AFL at the annual Trades Union Congress in England. In addition, from 1901, he served on the executive of the National Civic Federation. From 1908, O'Connell was the president of the Metal Trades Department of the AFL, and in 1911, this became his full-time role. He served on the government Commission on Industrial Relations in 1913, and on the Committee on Labor of the Advisory Commission of the Council of National Defense during World War I. In 1926, O'Connell argued for an end to Prohibition. Two years later, he gave a speech calling for a bar on private profits in the manufacture of armaments. In 1933, he gave a speech calling for the AFL to reorganize on the basis of industrial unions, something later taken up by 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 ...

. O'Connell retired in 1935, and died three years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:O'Connell, James 1858 births 1936 deaths American trade union leaders International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers people People from Minersville, Pennsylvania Trade unionists from Pennsylvania Vice presidents of the American Federation of Labor