John P. Frey
Encyclopedia
John P. Frey was a labor activist and president of the American Federation of Labor
's Metal Trades Department during a crucial period in American labor history.
, in 1871, the son of an immigrant German father, Leopold, and an immigrant French mother, Julia. He received a public school education and became an iron molder in Worcester, Massachusetts
, at the age of 16. He married Nellie Higgins on June 10, 1887.
In 1893, Frey was elected president of the local International Molders and Foundry Workers Union of North America
(IMFWU). He resigned the position to become treasurer of the New England regional board of the IMFWU in 1898, and a year later was elected vice president of the Massachusetts Federation of Labor.
Frey moved to Ohio
and was elected president of the Ohio State Federation of Labor in 1924. He stepped down to become its secretary-treasurer in 1927.
In 1918, Frey became chairman of the National Bureau of Economic Research
, helping to raise money and incorporate the organization in 1920. He remained chairman of the board of directors unil 1927.
The Metal Trades Department of the AFL had been organized on January 15, 1908. As a vice president of the IMFWU, Frey was automatically a delegate to the Metal Trades convention. Frey used his position as a delegate to oppose American entry into World War I
. Later, however, Frey became a fierce opponent of anything German.
Frey's advocacy of craft unionism
and anti-Communism
proved popular among his fellow Metal Trades delegates, and in 1934 Frey was elected president of the department. He served in that capacity until his retirement in 1950.
During the presidency of AFL president William Green
, Frey was one of the most influential men in the American labor movement. Frey, long with Matthew Woll
, president of the International Photo-Engravers Union of North America
, worked behind the scenes of the AFL executive council to craft AFL policies and positions, heavily influencing the passive Green. Green's rabid anti-Communism, his apolitical views, his refusal to consider governmental action as relief for working people's problems, and unwavering support for craft unionism
all came from Frey and Woll. In many ways, Frey and Woll can be considered the real presidents of the AFL during the Green era.
in Butte, Montana
in 1934, Frey personally intervened. To Frey, the strike was a direct attack on the employer. Strikes led to radicalism and violence, causing a downward spiral of hate and brutality which did more harm than good. Frey often attacked the sitdown strike
as "made in Moscow." Ending the Butte strike—at any cost—was Frey's chief goal. Subsequently, Frey negotiated a give-back agreement for the craftsmen which helped to break the strike and then bullied leaders of the mine workers into accepting the agreement as well. The sell-out broke the back of the labor movement in Butte for a decade.
Frey also became active in the labor education movement. A large number of labor colleges had been formed by various unions between 1918 and 1921. In order to coordinate the activities of these labor colleges and provide them with a degree of autonomy, the AFL supported the Workers' Education Bureau of America
in 1921. Frey served as an executive board member of the Bureau. One such college, Brookwood Labor College
in Katonah
, New York
, was created by the AFL in 1921. Brookwood attracted a large number of left-wing and Communist labor educators, however. Brookwood came under increasing attack from Frey and other members of the Workers' Education Bureau, until it finally closed in 1937.
The Brookwood incident also points up Frey's rabid anti-Communist
views. Like many of his colleagues, including Samuel Gompers
, William Green and Matthew Woll, Frey believed that the best defense for the American labor movement was to convince employers and government regulators that labor was completely supported the capitalist system and had employers' best interests at heart.
Frey was also not above red-baiting
in order to achieve his other goals, and often used his position as the president of the Metal Trades Department to attack progressives, left-wing activists, socialists, communists and their ideas and policies anywhere within the labor movement. In June 1954, Frey accused Harold Pritchett, president of the International Woodworkers of America
, of being a member of the Communist Party
. Frey's accusations led to Pritchett's imprisonment and the decline of the Woodworkers union.
Frey's anti-Communism took more concrete form as well. He joined the Army Reserve
and rose to the level of lieutenant colonel by 1928. He then became the liaison officer between the AFL and the U.S. Army. In the 1930s, left-wing writers accused him of having a relationship with Army Intelligence, working to undercut democratic but progressive labor movements both at home and overseas. No relationship was ever proven, but Frey returned to active duty at the same rank during World War II—serving in the Army Specialist Reserve.
Frey was a leader within the AFL of craft unionism. When John L. Lewis
led a number of unions to form the Congress of Industrial Organizations
(CIO), Frey viciously attacked the CIO and its leaders on a wide variety of grounds. In August 1938, he spent three days accusing the Congress of Industrial Organizations
of being a Communist front organization before the House Un-American Activities Committee
.
Frey's conservatism led him to oppose a number of policies strongly supported by the American labor movement today. He believed that Social Security
would distract unions' attention from more important goals. He denounced government-provided unemployment insurance as communistic. When railroad unions called for public ownership of the railroads in 1920, Frey ridiculed their position as "made in Germany" and helped Gompers and Woll to keep the convention from endorsing the position.
Frey retired from active union life in 1950. He was a lifelong Republican
, and had three children. He died in Washington, D.C.
, on November 29, 1957.
Frey was considered a scholar in the labor movement, although he had little formal education and his 'scholarship' was little more than popular writing. He wrote six books: An American Molder in Europe (1911), The Labor Injunction (1922), Calamity of Prosperity (1930), Bakers Domination (1933), Calamity of Recovery (1934) and Craft Unions of Ancient and Modern Times (1944).
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...
's Metal Trades Department during a crucial period in American labor history.
Early life
Frey was born in Mankato, MinnesotaMankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
, in 1871, the son of an immigrant German father, Leopold, and an immigrant French mother, Julia. He received a public school education and became an iron molder in Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
, at the age of 16. He married Nellie Higgins on June 10, 1887.
In 1893, Frey was elected president of the local International Molders and Foundry Workers Union of North America
International Molders and Foundry Workers Union of North America
International Molders and Foundry Workers Union of North America is an affiliated trade union of the AFL-CIO. The union traces its roots back to the formation of the Iron Molders' Union of North America, established in 1859 to represent craftsmen who cast wrought iron metal products.-Formation:In...
(IMFWU). He resigned the position to become treasurer of the New England regional board of the IMFWU in 1898, and a year later was elected vice president of the Massachusetts Federation of Labor.
Trade union career
In 1900, Frey was elected a vice president of the IMFWU. He became editor of the Molders' Journal in 1903 (he resigned the editorship in 1926). Frey used his position to augment his power within the union as well as suppress progressive elements in the rank and file. For example, in 1924 delegates to the IMFWU convention passed resolutions calling for a labor party and industrial unionization in the metal trades. But Frey and the other officers of the union decided to ignore the will of the Molders' convention and oppose similar resolutions offered at the American Federation of Labor (AFL) convention that same year.Frey moved to Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and was elected president of the Ohio State Federation of Labor in 1924. He stepped down to become its secretary-treasurer in 1927.
In 1918, Frey became chairman of the National Bureau of Economic Research
National Bureau of Economic Research
The National Bureau of Economic Research is an American private nonprofit research organization "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic community." The NBER is well known for providing start and end...
, helping to raise money and incorporate the organization in 1920. He remained chairman of the board of directors unil 1927.
The Metal Trades Department of the AFL had been organized on January 15, 1908. As a vice president of the IMFWU, Frey was automatically a delegate to the Metal Trades convention. Frey used his position as a delegate to oppose American entry into World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Later, however, Frey became a fierce opponent of anything German.
Frey's advocacy of craft unionism
Craft unionism
Craft unionism refers to organizing a union in a manner that seeks to unify workers in a particular industry along the lines of the particular craft or trade that they work in by class or skill level...
and anti-Communism
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
proved popular among his fellow Metal Trades delegates, and in 1934 Frey was elected president of the department. He served in that capacity until his retirement in 1950.
During the presidency of AFL president William Green
William Green (labor leader)
William Green was an American trade union leader. Green is best remembered for serving as the President of the American Federation of Labor from 1924 to 1952.-Early years:...
, Frey was one of the most influential men in the American labor movement. Frey, long with Matthew Woll
Matthew Woll
Matthew Woll was president of the International Photo-Engravers Union of North America from 1906 to 1929, an American Federation of Labor vice president from 1919 to 1955 and an AFL-CIO vice president from 1955 to 1956.-Early life:Born in Luxembourg in 1880 to Michael and Janette Woll, the Roman...
, president of the International Photo-Engravers Union of North America
International Photo-Engravers Union of North America
International Photo-Engravers' Union of North America was a labor union formed in 1904 to represent halftone photoengravers in the printing industry. Its successor union is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Change to Win Federation....
, worked behind the scenes of the AFL executive council to craft AFL policies and positions, heavily influencing the passive Green. Green's rabid anti-Communism, his apolitical views, his refusal to consider governmental action as relief for working people's problems, and unwavering support for craft unionism
Craft unionism
Craft unionism refers to organizing a union in a manner that seeks to unify workers in a particular industry along the lines of the particular craft or trade that they work in by class or skill level...
all came from Frey and Woll. In many ways, Frey and Woll can be considered the real presidents of the AFL during the Green era.
Views and policies
Frey used the Metal Trades Department to shape the American labor movement according to his own views. When the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers led 5,000 copper miners and craftsmen out on strikeStrike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
in Butte, Montana
Butte, Montana
Butte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...
in 1934, Frey personally intervened. To Frey, the strike was a direct attack on the employer. Strikes led to radicalism and violence, causing a downward spiral of hate and brutality which did more harm than good. Frey often attacked the sitdown strike
Sitdown strike
A sit-down strike is a form of civil disobedience in which an organized group of workers, usually employed at a factory or other centralized location, take possession of the workplace by "sitting down" at their stations, effectively preventing their employers from replacing them with strikebreakers...
as "made in Moscow." Ending the Butte strike—at any cost—was Frey's chief goal. Subsequently, Frey negotiated a give-back agreement for the craftsmen which helped to break the strike and then bullied leaders of the mine workers into accepting the agreement as well. The sell-out broke the back of the labor movement in Butte for a decade.
Frey also became active in the labor education movement. A large number of labor colleges had been formed by various unions between 1918 and 1921. In order to coordinate the activities of these labor colleges and provide them with a degree of autonomy, the AFL supported the Workers' Education Bureau of America
Workers' Education Bureau of America
Workers' Education Bureau of America was an organization established to assist labor colleges and other worker training centers involved in the American labor movement....
in 1921. Frey served as an executive board member of the Bureau. One such college, Brookwood Labor College
Brookwood Labor College
Brookwood Labor College was the first residential labor college in the United States. The school was established in 1921 near Katonah, New York. The school was closely supported by affiliate unions of the American Federation of Labor until 1928, when pressure began to be exerted by the AF of L's...
in Katonah
Katonah
Katonah may refer to:Given name:* Chief Katonah, a Native American tribal leaderPlace name:* Katonah, New York, a hamlet within the town of Bedford, New YorkOther:* Katonah , a music album by Apollo Sunshine, named after Bedford, New York...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, was created by the AFL in 1921. Brookwood attracted a large number of left-wing and Communist labor educators, however. Brookwood came under increasing attack from Frey and other members of the Workers' Education Bureau, until it finally closed in 1937.
The Brookwood incident also points up Frey's rabid anti-Communist
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
views. Like many of his colleagues, including Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers was an English-born American cigar maker who became a labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor , and served as that organization's president from 1886 to 1894 and from 1895 until his death in 1924...
, William Green and Matthew Woll, Frey believed that the best defense for the American labor movement was to convince employers and government regulators that labor was completely supported the capitalist system and had employers' best interests at heart.
Frey was also not above red-baiting
Red-baiting
Red-baiting is the act of accusing, denouncing, attacking or persecuting an individual or group as communist, socialist, or anarchist, or sympathetic toward communism, socialism, or anarchism. The word "red" in "red-baiting" is derived from the red flag signifying radical left-wing politics. In the...
in order to achieve his other goals, and often used his position as the president of the Metal Trades Department to attack progressives, left-wing activists, socialists, communists and their ideas and policies anywhere within the labor movement. In June 1954, Frey accused Harold Pritchett, president of the International Woodworkers of America
International Woodworkers of America
International Woodworkers of America was an industrial union of lumbermen, sawmill workers, timber transportation workers and others formed in 1937....
, of being a member of the Communist Party
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
. Frey's accusations led to Pritchett's imprisonment and the decline of the Woodworkers union.
Frey's anti-Communism took more concrete form as well. He joined the Army Reserve
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
and rose to the level of lieutenant colonel by 1928. He then became the liaison officer between the AFL and the U.S. Army. In the 1930s, left-wing writers accused him of having a relationship with Army Intelligence, working to undercut democratic but progressive labor movements both at home and overseas. No relationship was ever proven, but Frey returned to active duty at the same rank during World War II—serving in the Army Specialist Reserve.
Frey was a leader within the AFL of craft unionism. When John L. Lewis
John L. Lewis
John Llewellyn Lewis was an American leader of organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960...
led a number of unions to form the Congress of Industrial Organizations
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...
(CIO), Frey viciously attacked the CIO and its leaders on a wide variety of grounds. In August 1938, he spent three days accusing the Congress of Industrial Organizations
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...
of being a Communist front organization before the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
.
Frey's conservatism led him to oppose a number of policies strongly supported by the American labor movement today. He believed that Social Security
Social Security (United States)
In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...
would distract unions' attention from more important goals. He denounced government-provided unemployment insurance as communistic. When railroad unions called for public ownership of the railroads in 1920, Frey ridiculed their position as "made in Germany" and helped Gompers and Woll to keep the convention from endorsing the position.
Frey retired from active union life in 1950. He was a lifelong Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, and had three children. He died in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, on November 29, 1957.
Frey was considered a scholar in the labor movement, although he had little formal education and his 'scholarship' was little more than popular writing. He wrote six books: An American Molder in Europe (1911), The Labor Injunction (1922), Calamity of Prosperity (1930), Bakers Domination (1933), Calamity of Recovery (1934) and Craft Unions of Ancient and Modern Times (1944).