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Title: Alfred Max Loewenthal papers
Date (inclusive): 1886-1980
Collection Number: 80189
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
59 manuscript boxes, 5 oversize boxes, 2 motion picture film reels
(25.6 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, serial issues, other printed matter, and motion picture film relating to electrical
workers' unions in the United States, to teachers' unions in the United States and abroad, and to socialism, communism, and
Trotskyism in the United States and especially in the labor movement.
Creator:
Loewenthal, Alfred Max, 1916-1980
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1980.
[Identification of item], Alfred Max Loewenthal papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
| 1916 | Born, Newark, New Jersey |
| 1941 | Charter member, Local 447, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers Union, Nutley, New Jersey |
| 1948-1956 | Business agent, Local 447, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers Union (subsequently International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers) |
| 1955-1965 | Director, Union Leadership Academy, Rutgers University |
| 1956-1961 | Education director, District 4, International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers |
| 1961-1965 | Assistant to the president, District 4 (subsequently District 3), International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers |
| 1963 | Democratic Party candidate for mayor of Verona, New Jersey |
| 1964 | Candidate for Democratic Party nomination for Congress, 12th Congressional District of New Jersey |
| 1965-1967 | Assistant to the president, International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers |
| 1967-1970 | Public relations director, American Federation of Teachers |
| 1970-1979 | Assistant to the president, American Federation of Teachers |
| 1980 | Died, Baltimore, Maryland |
Scope and Content of Collection
The papers of Alfred Max Loewenthal, an official of electrical workers' and teachers' unions, are concerned with the intersection
of labor and communism, and with the intersection of labor and education. They deal with the issue of Communist Party influence
in American unions and also with AFL-CIO efforts to counteract communist influence in unions abroad. They also deal with educational
activities of unions and with the unionization of educational workers.
Loewenthal joined the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers Union (UE) in 1941 as a rank-and-file member on the shop
floor. The UE was a major union within the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and one in which the Communist Party
gained substantial influence. Loewenthal, however, was aligned within his Local 447 with an anti-Communist faction. With the
onset of the Cold War, the CIO adopted a policy of requiring its constituent unions to purge themselves of pro-Communist officials.
When the UE refused to comply, it was expelled in 1949, and the CIO proceeded to charter a rival union, the International
Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (IUE). Loewenthal, by then business agent of Local 447, was instrumental in
leading his local out of the UE and into the new IUE. He rose within the IUE to become assistant to President Milton Weihrauch
of District 4 (subsequently redesignated District 3), which represented more than 100,000 electrical workers in New York and
New Jersey. Factionalism continued, albeit in new form, within the IUE. The 1964 reelection of James B. Carey, president of
the IUE since its inception, was found by the National Labor Relations Board to have been tainted by fraud, and the results
were overturned. Paul Jennings, installed as IUE president despite lesser irregularities in his own campaign, appointed Loewenthal
as his assistant. A rift arose between Jennings and Weihrauch, hitherto allies, which came to a head when misuse of District
3 union funds was uncovered. Weihrauch was ousted, and Loewenthal, though not accused of wrongdoing by anyone, was fired by
Jennings. The UE, which had maintained its existence as an independent union outside the AFL-CIO, viewed the disarray within
the IUE with considerable glee. This ended Loewenthal's electrical union career, which is documented in the ELECTRICAL WORKERS'
UNIONS FILE.
While still a Local 447 official, Loewenthal began to specialize in union educational activities. He was founder and director
in 1955 of the Union Leadership Academy, sponsored by the IUE in conjunction with the Rutgers University Institute of Management
and Labor Relations and the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations to provide leadership training for
union members. He continued as educational director of District 4 and was charged with community relations, human rights,
and international contact functions, as well as educational affairs, for District 4 and later for the entire IUE. His labor
educational activities are documented in the LABOR EDUCATION FILE, which also covers the one-year appointment he received
after leaving the IUE as professor of labor history at Rutgers University, despite his lack of the customary academic credentials.
Loewenthal became an official of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) in 1967, initially as public relations director
and subsequently as assistant to successive AFT Presidents David Selden and Albert Shanker. In addition to concerns with the
relationship between collective bargaining and professionalism as affecting teachers and other educational workers, Loewenthal
continued to specialize in human rights and international affairs issues for the AFT. In its international aspects, he was
in close touch with the AFL-CIO Department of International Affairs and related bodies, such as the African-American Labor
Center, the Asian-American Free Labor Institute, and the American Institute for Free Labor Development. The AMERICAN FEDERATION
OF TEACHERS FILE documents his general work for the union. Contacts with teachers' unions in other countries are covered in
the INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS' UNIONS FILE.
Loewenthal's early political history is not explicitly documented in the collection. Leaflets of opposing factions in the
IUE labeled him a Trotskyist. The LEFT-WING PUBLICATIONS file does include a large volume of Trotskyist literature from the
1930s and 1940s, including internal bulletins, suggesting that he may indeed have been a member or sympathizer of the Socialist
Workers Party during his youth. If so, he put that period behind him. He was heavily involved in Democratic Party politics
by the early 1960s. Loewenthal was the Democratic candidate for mayor of Verona, New Jersey, in 1963, and in 1964 unsuccessfully
sought the Democratic nomination for Congress from the 12th Congressional District of New Jersey. These campaigns are documented
in the ELECTION CAMPAIGN FILE. Loewenthal's mature politics were anti-communist and liberal. He was a strong supporter of
Israel and of the American Jewish community, a strong supporter of the black civil rights movement, and an opponent of nuclear
weapons testing. In the 1970s he was close to Social Democrats, U.S.A.
The SPEECHES AND WRITINGS file includes Loewenthal's own writings from all periods of his life. The SUBJECT FILE consists
of collected material, mainly printed matter, arranged topically. The OVERSIZE FILE notably contains oversize publications
of the IUE and of Trotskyist organizations. The small AUDIOVISUAL FILE is associated with Loewenthal's IUE period.
The Hoover Institution acquired the collection from Eleanor Loewenthal in 1980 following her husband's death.
Portions of the collection have suffered from water damage.
The abbreviations AFT, IUE and UE are used throughout the register.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Communism -- United States
Motion pictures
Socialism -- United States
Labor unions -- United States
Electric industry workers -- United States
Teachers' unions -- United States
Fourth International
American Federation of Teachers
International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers