Roland Jay Thomas (June 9, 1900 – April 18, 1967), also known as R. J. Thomas, was a left-wing leader of the American automobile workers union in the 1930s and 1940s. He grew up in eastern Ohio and attended the College of Wooster for two years. The need to help support his family caused him to leave college and go to work. In 1923, he moved to Detroit, where he worked in a number of automobile plants. He became active in efforts to organize the automobile industry and was the president of Chrysler Local 7 when it affiliated with the

United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) ...

(UAW) in 1936. He was a leader of the 1937 Chrysler sit-down strike and that same year was elected a vice president of the UAW. He assumed the presidency in 1938 after the president, Homer Martin, was ousted. He was president until 1946. During this period, the UAW developed into a dynamic, stable union. He lost the presidency to

Walter Reuther Walter Philip Reuther (; September 1, 1907 – May 9, 1970) was an American leader of organized labor and civil rights activist who built the United Automobile Workers (UAW) into one of the most progressive labor unions in American history. He ...

in 1946, but was elected first vice president. Within the UAW, Thomas had led a CPUSA-affiliated faction that supported the Soviet Union, while Reuther led a liberal and progressive faction that opposed the Soviet Union. During the WWII and until 1946 in the UAW, the Communists had outnumbered the liberals in the Executive Committee; but by 1947, as U.S.-Soviet tensions grew, workers' support of the Communists waned. A series of bitter internal disputes led to Thomas losing the office of the vice presidency in the following year's election, with most of the leading Communists replaced, in what became known as "the biggest setback of all time for the Communists in the American Labor Movement." After his defeat in 1947, he was named assistant to Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) president

Philip Murray Philip Murray (May 25, 1886 – November 9, 1952) was a Scottish-born steelworker and an American labor leader. He was the first president of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC), the first president of the United Steelworkers o ...

. With the merger of the

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

and CIO in 1955, he served under

George Meany William George Meany (August 16, 1894 – January 10, 1980) was an American labor union leader for 57 years. He was the key figure in the creation of the AFL–CIO and served as the AFL–CIO's first president, from 1955 to 1979. Meany, the son ...

until his retirement in 1964 due to ill health. He was married to Mildred Wettergren on August 7, 1937. and they had one child, Frank. R. J. Thomas died in

Muskegon, Michigan Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expans ...

, in 1967.

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