Walter Polakowski (January 18, 1888 – November 13, 1966) was an American upholsterer,

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

activist, and small business owner from

Milwaukee 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. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

who served as a

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

and Wisconsin State Senate for a total of 14 years. He was the older brother of John Polakowski, who succeeded him in the Assembly in 1922.

Background

Polakowski was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

on January 18, 1888 to a family of Polish descent, and came to Milwaukee with his family around 1900. He began working while still a child, as a newsboy and bootblack; at the age of 14 he was

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

d to an upholsterer, and by the age of 18 represented the Upholsterers' Union in the

Milwaukee Federated Trades Council 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. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

. He married Catherine at 19 and went into the

grocery A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, an ...

and saloon business, becoming a proprietor at 21. He later sold out and went into the

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

business until 1920, when he established the Union Upholstering and Auto Trim Shop. He had never held a public office until elected to the Assembly in 1920.

Public office

In 1920, he unseated incumbent Democratic

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

Frank Kubatzki (who had served three terms representing the 8th

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous coun ...

District Ward of the City of Milwaukee">wards_of_the_United_States.html" ;"title="th wards of the United States">Ward of the City of Milwaukee, by 1593 votes to Kubatski's 1572. He was assigned to the standing committee on finance. In the fall of 1922 he was elected to the State Senate from the Wisconsin Senate, District 3, 3rd District (8th, 11th, 14th and 24th wards of the City of Milwaukee), receiving 5,778 votes to 3,796 for Republican Thaddeus J. Pruss, and his younger brother John (also a Socialist) was elected to the Assembly seat which included his old district. He was assigned to the joint committees on finance and on

highways A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

. He was unopposed for re-election in 1926 (only two votes were cast against him), and was assigned to the committee on

corporations A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

and

taxation A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal person, legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regiona ...

. In 1928, he was the Socialist nominee for

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

from Wisconsin's 4th congressional district, losing to Republican incumbent

John Schafer John Charles Schafer (May 7, 1893 – June 9, 1962) was a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin. Born in Milwaukee, Schafer fought in the First World War in France, serving for twenty-two months. In 1921, he was elected to the Wisconsin State ...

in a three-way race. He was re-elected in 1930, tallying more votes than his Democratic and Republican opponents combined; and remained on the corporations and finance committee. He again served as the Socialist nominee for Congress in 1932, coming in third in a four-way contest which saw Raymond Cannon oust incumbent Schafer. Before the 1934 election, his old district was eliminated during

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

and he ran for re-election from the new 7th Senate District, which included only one ward from his old district, but added several suburban cities and townships. He was defeated by Democratic Assemblyman

Max Galasinski Max J. Galasinski was an American stonecutter, sculptor, sanitation supervisor and alderman from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who served one term as a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and one term in the Wisconsin State Senate. Backgr ...

in a four-way race. William Evjue wrote of Polakowski and his fellow

Wisconsin Socialists Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michi ...

, " helobbyists knew it was not possible to influence these men. They were incorruptible. Walter Polakowski was the same kind."

After the legislature

By 1937, Polakowski was working as a union organizer for the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. He also worked briefly as an organizer for the Socialist Party, before being fired (allegedly for his announced intention to run for the Senate against a candidate endorsed by the Farmer-Labor Progressive Federation. In August 1939, when his wife filed for divorce, he was working as a bartender; the couple at that time had two adult children, and a 17-year-old daughter, Phyllis. Polakowski would twice more try to return to the Senate from the Third District, running unsuccessfully for the

Progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

nomination in 1942. He sought the Democratic nomination in a 1949 special election, but campaigned openly as a Socialist, denouncing plans to introduce a " right to work" bill in the legislature. In May 1963 a testimonial dinner was held in Polakowski's honor, at which he was termed "the father of unemployment compensation laws". He died on November 13, 1966.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polakowski, Walter 1888 births Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Politicians from Buffalo, New York Politicians from Milwaukee American businesspeople in retailing Trade unionists from Wisconsin Businesspeople from Milwaukee Socialist Party of America politicians from Wisconsin Upholsterers Wisconsin state senators American grocers American trade unionists of Polish descent 1966 deaths 20th-century American politicians Activists from Buffalo, New York Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America people 20th-century American businesspeople