Paul Booth (June 7, 1943 – January 17, 2018) was an activist, anti-war protester, and lifelong labor organizer. Called "one of the labor movement’s key strategists" by

Harold Meyerson Harold Meyerson (born 1950) is an American journalist, opinion columnist and socialist. In 2009 ''The Atlantic Monthly'' named him one of "the most influential commentators in the nation" as part of their list "The Atlantic 50." Early life and ...

and "an organizer’s organizer" by American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) President

Lee Saunders Lee A. Saunders is a leader of the labor movement in the United States. He was elected to succeed Gerald W. McEntee as President of the 1.6 million-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), one of the largest an ...

, he began his work in labor movement in 1966 as research director for the

United Packinghouse Workers of America The United Packinghouse Workers of America (UPWA), later the ''United Packinghouse, Food and Allied Workers'', was a labor union that represented workers in the meatpacking industry. Origin as the PWOC Background Between the mid-1800s and mid- ...

. He became an organizing director for AFSCME where he worked for four decades. Prior to that, he was a student organizer in the class of 1964, forming a chapter of the

Students for a Democratic Society Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a national student activist organization in the United States during the 1960s, and was one of the principal representations of the New Left. Disdaining permanent leaders, hierarchical relationships ...

(SDS) at Swarthmore and was one of the drafters of the SDS

Port Huron Statement The Port Huron Statement is a 1962 political manifesto of the American student activist movement Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). It was written by SDS members, and completed on June 15, 1962, at a United Auto Workers (UAW) retreat outside ...

. He became the SDS national secretary for a year, moving to Chicago in 1965. He was one of the chief organizers of the April 1965 March on Washington to End the War in Vietnam as part of SDS's Peace Research and Education Project which he co-led with

Todd Gitlin Todd Alan Gitlin (January 6, 1943 – February 5, 2022) was an American sociologist, political activist and writer, novelist, and cultural commentator. He wrote about the mass media, politics, intellectual life and the arts, for both popular an ...

. In 1971, Booth co-chaired the Citizens Action Program (CAP), a group which first investigated air pollution but soon switched to exposing fraudulent underassessment of property values for tax evasion purposes. CAP’s investigations found that

U.S. Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in severa ...

had evaded billions of dollars in taxes through low assessment of its properties. Booth’s organizational skills and the activities of CAP inspired other groups to launch further investigations into taxation—especially property taxation—throughout Illinois. He spoke at the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in 2016 after

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

appointed him to serve on the Democratic Party's platform drafting committee. He retired from his position of executive assistant to AFSCME's President Saunders in 2017 and continued to write about political strategy for the 2018 election. On his retirement early in 2017, Representative

Jan Schakowsky Janice Schakowsky ( ; née Danoff; born May 26, 1944) is an American politician who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from since 1999. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat ...

inserted into the

Congressional Record The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Inde ...

an appreciation of Paul Booth's "contributions to the progressive movement as an activist, organizer, mentor and leader," praising the "rich legacy and a lasting record of achievement" that he would leave behind.

Personal life

Booth grew up in Washington, D.C. His parents were both Socialist Party members: his mother was a psychiatric social worker and his father was an economist with the Department of Labor who helped craft

Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

during the Roosevelt administration. He graduated from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

in 1964.Paul Booth, labor leader and antiwar activist, dies at 74
''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', Harrison Smith, January 19, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018. He was married to

Heather Booth Heather Booth (born December 15, 1945) is an American civil rights activist, feminist, and political strategist who has been involved in activism for progressive causes. During her student years, she was active in both the civil rights movement ...

(née Tobis) in July 1967 and was interviewed in a documentary about her life. They had two children, Gene and Dan. He died January 17, 2018, from complications of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Writings

Paul Booth (c. 1965)
A Strategy for University Reform
'. Students for a Democratic Society. New York. Retrieved January 27, 2018.

References

1943 births 2018 deaths American community activists American political activists American civil rights activists American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees people Activists from Washington, D.C. {{trade-unionist-bio-stub