Green, William, 1872–1952, American labor leader, president of the American Federation of Labor (1924–1952), b. Coshocton, Ohio. He rose through the ranks of the United Mine Workers of America, of which organization he was (1912–24) secretary-treasurer. With backing from John L. Lewis, Green was elected president of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) to succeed Samuel Gompers. He led the organization of skilled labor into craft unions and gradually built up AFL membership. After eight of the largest unions split away (1935) under the leadership of John L. Lewis and formed the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) to organize workers in industrial unions, Green led the AFL in the subsequent struggle with the CIO. He set forth his philosophy in Labor and Democracy (1939). Green was succeeded as president of the AFL by George Meany. See American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), a federation of autonomous labor unions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, and U.S.
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Green, William

(born March 3, 1873, Coshocton, Ohio, U.S.—died Nov. 21, 1952, Coshocton) U.S. labour leader, president of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). He was a coal miner from age 16. He worked his way up through the union hierarchy and was elected president of the AFL in 1924, a post he kept until his death. The formation in 1935 of the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO), headed by John L. Lewis, led to bitter public disputes between the two men, ending in the expulsion of the CIO from the AFL in 1936. See also AFL-CIO; labour union.

Green, William (1873–1952) labor leader; born in Coshocton, Ohio. A coal miner from age 16, he rose in the union ranks and served in the Ohio senate (1911–15). He was secretary-treasurer of the United Mine Workers of America (1913–24) and then succeeded Samuel Gompers as president of the American Federation of Labor (1924–52). He helped to shape the National Industrial Recovery Act (1933) and the National Labor Relations Act (1935). An opponent of industrial unionism, he forced out the unions that then formed the Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO); he would struggle with the CIO to the end of his life. He was the epitome of the respectable, responsible labor leader who chose to restrain the more radical approach to management and labor relations. He attended a conference in London (1949) that formed the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions to promote non-Communist labor unions in Europe.