Leo Krzycki (1881-1966) was a chairman of the

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of Ameri ...

and vice president of the

Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America 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 ...

Background

Leo C. Krzycki was born on August 10, 1881, in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, to Martin Krzycki and Katherine Wobszal.

Career

In 1918, Krzycki ran for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from

Wisconsin's 8th congressional district Wisconsin's 8th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in northeastern Wisconsin. It is currently represented by Mike Gallagher, a Republican. Gallagher won the open seat vacated by Re ...

. He lost to incumbent Edward E. Browne. In 1924, he was a candidate for the House of Representatives from

Wisconsin's 4th congressional district Wisconsin's 4th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in Wisconsin, encompassing a part of Milwaukee County and including almost all of the city of Milwaukee (except the slivers of the c ...

. He lost to incumbent John C. Schafer. Krzycki ran for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in 1926, losing to John J. Blaine. He then ran for

Secretary of State of Wisconsin The Secretary of State of Wisconsin is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin, and is second (behind the Lieutenant Governor) in the line of succession to the office of Governor of Wiscon ...

in 1928, losing to incumbent Theodore Dammann. In 1933, Krzycki was elected chairman of the national executive board of the Socialist Party of America, succeeding the lately deceased

Morris Hillquit Morris Hillquit (August 1, 1869 – October 8, 1933) was a founder and leader of the Socialist Party of America and prominent labor lawyer in New York City's Lower East Side. Together with Eugene V. Debs and Congressman Victor L. Berger, Hillqui ...

. Krzycki's 1937 involvement in the strike of about 1,500 people against the Republic Steel plant was criticized, especially the "march" forward that the strikers took towards the plant gates. One first-hand account stated that he knew beforehand that the police captain was a "sadist" and stayed on-stage, trying in vain to dissuade the protests from going forward. Krzycki was also a key figure in organizing the 1937 strike against Ford Motor Company, and shares a historic image leading the strikers with labor leaders

Richard Frankensteen Richard Frankensteen (March 6, 1907 in Detroit – 1977) was the first president of the "Automotive Industrial Workers Association" which merged into the United Auto Workers (UAW) He was elected vice-president of the UAW, where he played a major ...

and Ed Hall.

Personal life and death

In 1909, Krzycki married Anna Kadau, a neighbor; they had three children. Krzycki was a member of the

American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born American Committee for the Protection of Foreign Born was the successor group to the National Council for the Protection of the Foreign Born and its successor, seen by the US federal government as subversive for "protecting foreign Communists who c ...

. Leo Krzycki died age 84 on January 22, 1966, in Milwaukee.

Awards

* 1946:

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...

References

External links