Stephen Schlossberg (May 18, 1921 – December 10, 2011) was a union organizer who later became General Counsel of the
United Auto Workers and served as Undersecretary for Labor-Management Relations under Secretary of Labor
Bill Brock during the
Reagan administration.
[Greenhouse, Steven (16 December 2011)]
Stephen Schlossberg, 90, Lawyer for U.A.W.
'' The New York Times'', p. A32
Background
Stephen Isaac Schlossberg was born on May 18, 1921, in
Roanoke, Virginia. His father was a Jewish emigrant from
Russia. He graduated from high school in 1938. He started college at the
University of Virginia, but dropped out to enlist in the U.S. Army the day after the
Pearl Harbor attack in 1941. After
World War II and a stint working in his family's retail business, he became an organizer for the
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. He went back to college after four years' organizing work and got his undergraduate degree from Virginia in 1955, followed by a law degree in 1957.
After working in a labor law firm in
Washington, D.C., he went to work for the
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in 1961, and spent much time on the labor dispute that became the
1962–63 New York City newspaper strike
Year 196 ( CXCVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dexter and Messalla (or, less frequently, year 949 ''Ab urbe condita ...
.
He joined the
United Auto Workers as counsel in 1963, and served as General Counsel until 1982, working under UAW Presidents
Walter Reuther,
Leonard Woodcock
Leonard Freel Woodcock (February 15, 1911 – January 16, 2001) was President of the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the first US ambassador to China after being the last Chief of the US Liaison Office in Beijing.
Early life
Woodcock was born in ...
, and
Douglas A. Fraser. By the early 1970s, he was also put in charge of the UAW's Washington office.
[Wiseman, Lauren (10 December 2011)]
A ‘Renaissance guy’ of organized labor
'' The Washington Post''[(1 September 1963)]
U.S. Aide Gets Post in Auto Union
'' The New York Times'' (UPI story)
When named Undersecretary for Labor-Management Relations in 1985, he drew criticism from conservatives because of his union ties, although Secretary of Labor Brock saw Schlossberg as a good candidate for communicating with labor.
[(13 April 1986)]
Former Labor Organizer on Reagan Team
'' The Register-Guard'' (''Washington Post'' story reprint) His liberal/labor background was not hidden, however, as he hung photos for
Woody Guthrie,
Joe Hill, and
George Meany in his office. In 1987, he left to become the Washington director of the
United Nations'
International Labour Organization.
[(11 December 2011)]
Stephen Schlossberg, labor leader, dies in Sarasota
''Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The ''Sarasota Herald-Tribune'' is a daily newspaper, located in Sarasota, Florida, founded in 1925 as the ''Sarasota Herald''.
History
The newspaper was owned by The New York Times Company from 1982 to 2012. It was then owned by Halifax Media ...
''
Schlossberg died of
congestive heart failure at his home in
Sarasota, Florida on December 10, 2011.
Personal
In June 1963, he married Nancy Kamin, with whom he had two children, a son and a daughter.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlossberg, Stpehen
People from Roanoke, Virginia
1921 births
2011 deaths
United Auto Workers people
University of Virginia School of Law alumni
University of Virginia alumni