William E. Simkin
Encyclopedia
William Edward Simkin was an American
labor mediator and private arbitrator who worked on resolving strikes in major nationwide industries as the longest-serving head of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
, the nation's top labor mediator.
. He majored in engineering at Earlham College
, but chose to pursue economics
after taking a few courses in the subject during his senior year. He was principal of a high school in Sherwood, New York
in 1928 and spent five years working for the American Friends Service Committee
during the Great Depression
, including time he spent teaching at the Brooklyn Friends School
while attending Columbia University
.
in 1937, majoring in economics. There he developed a relationship with one of his professors, George W. Taylor
, and served as his assistant while Taylor was mediating a dispute in the Philadelphia hosiery industry. With the exception of wartime service working for the National War Labor Board
, Simkin devoted the remainder of his career to arbitration.
A lifelong Quaker
, Simkin was a patient man who spoke with a deep and soft voice, and was described by The New York Times
as a peacemaker who "projected a soothing image that fit the part". Theodore W. Kheel
, a fellow labor mediator, described Simkin called him "a giant among neutrals in labor relations, who was trusted by both sides and had that essential ingredient of common sense."
On January 27, 1961, President of the United States
John F. Kennedy
named Simkin to serve as the fifth Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
, with The New York Times
describing him as "one of the best known arbitrators of labor-management problems in the country". He was sworn into office on March 31 in a ceremony held at the White House
, with United States Secretary of Labor
Arthur J. Goldberg remarking on Simkin's status as the first Quaker to hold the post.
As Director of the FMCS, Simkin played a major role in resolving disputes in industries from airlines to steel, with a focus on developing methods to resolve problems before they became crises and working with both labor and management in creating techniques to address their grievances. He was reappointed by President Lyndon Johnson, and served in the post until 1969, making him the longest-serving director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
In private practice, Simkin served as an arbitrator assisting major corporations with difficult labor issues at companies including Bethlehem Steel
, Goodyear
and Greyhound Lines
. While living in Tucson, Arizona
, Simkin was appointed by then-FMCS Director William Usery, Jr.
in 1975 to mediate a century-old dispute between the Navajo
and Hopi
regarding a 1800000 acres (7,284.3 km²) tract that lies inside the Navajo reservation, with the United States Congress
mandating that the issue be settled through negotiation within six months.
In addition to serving as president of the National Academy of Arbitrators
, Simkin was on the faculty of Harvard Business School
from 1969 until 1973. He was the author of Mediation and the Dynamics of Collective Bargaining, published by the Bureau of National Affairs
in 1971.
due to congestive heart failure
.
He was survived by his wife, two sons, six grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
labor mediator and private arbitrator who worked on resolving strikes in major nationwide industries as the longest-serving head of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (USA)
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is an independent agency of the United States government, founded in 1947, which provides mediation services to industry, community and government agencies worldwide. One of its most common tasks is to help to mediate labor disputes around the country....
, the nation's top labor mediator.
Early life and education
Simkin was born on January 13, 1907, in Merrifield, New York and was raised in Poplar Ridge, New YorkPoplar Ridge, New York
Poplar Ridge, New York is a hamlet in Cayuga County, New York. It holds the Jethro Wood House, a National Historic Landmark.The Vernon Center Green Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985....
. He majored in engineering at Earlham College
Earlham College
Earlham College is a liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana. It was founded in 1847 by Quakers and has approximately 1,200 students.The president is John David Dawson...
, but chose to pursue economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
after taking a few courses in the subject during his senior year. He was principal of a high school in Sherwood, New York
Sherwood, New York
Sherwood is a hamlet in Cayuga County, New York, United States.It is the location of four properties or districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places:*Augustus Howland House, 1395 Sherwood Rd., Sherwood...
in 1928 and spent five years working for the American Friends Service Committee
American Friends Service Committee
The American Friends Service Committee is a Religious Society of Friends affiliated organization which works for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world...
during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, including time he spent teaching at the Brooklyn Friends School
Brooklyn Friends School
Brooklyn Friends School is a Quaker school in New York City. Brooklyn Friends School is an independent, college preparatory Quaker school serving a culturally diverse educational community of approximately 700 students, ages 20 months through 12th grade.-History:Founded in 1867 by the Religious...
while attending Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
Mediation and arbitration
He enrolled in the Wharton School of the University of PennsylvaniaWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wharton was the world’s first collegiate business school and the first business school in the United States...
in 1937, majoring in economics. There he developed a relationship with one of his professors, George W. Taylor
George W. Taylor (professor)
George W. Taylor was a notable professor of industrial relations at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and is credited with founding the academic field of study known as industrial relations. He served in several capacities in the federal government, most notably as a mediator...
, and served as his assistant while Taylor was mediating a dispute in the Philadelphia hosiery industry. With the exception of wartime service working for the National War Labor Board
National War Labor Board
The National War Labor Board was a federal agency created in April 1918 by President Woodrow Wilson. It was composed of twelve representatives from business and labor, and co-chaired by Former President William Howard Taft. Its purpose was to arbitrate disputes between workers and employers in...
, Simkin devoted the remainder of his career to arbitration.
A lifelong Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
, Simkin was a patient man who spoke with a deep and soft voice, and was described by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as a peacemaker who "projected a soothing image that fit the part". Theodore W. Kheel
Theodore W. Kheel
Theodore Woodrow Kheel was an American attorney and labor mediator who played a key role in reaching resolutions of long-simmering labor disputes between managements and unions and resulting strikes in New York City and elsewhere in the United States, including the 114-day long 1962-63 New York...
, a fellow labor mediator, described Simkin called him "a giant among neutrals in labor relations, who was trusted by both sides and had that essential ingredient of common sense."
On January 27, 1961, President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
named Simkin to serve as the fifth Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (USA)
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is an independent agency of the United States government, founded in 1947, which provides mediation services to industry, community and government agencies worldwide. One of its most common tasks is to help to mediate labor disputes around the country....
, with The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
describing him as "one of the best known arbitrators of labor-management problems in the country". He was sworn into office on March 31 in a ceremony held at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, with United States Secretary of Labor
United States Secretary of Labor
The United States Secretary of Labor is the head of the Department of Labor who exercises control over the department and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all other issues involving any form of business-person controversies....
Arthur J. Goldberg remarking on Simkin's status as the first Quaker to hold the post.
As Director of the FMCS, Simkin played a major role in resolving disputes in industries from airlines to steel, with a focus on developing methods to resolve problems before they became crises and working with both labor and management in creating techniques to address their grievances. He was reappointed by President Lyndon Johnson, and served in the post until 1969, making him the longest-serving director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
In private practice, Simkin served as an arbitrator assisting major corporations with difficult labor issues at companies including Bethlehem Steel
Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...
, Goodyear
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....
and Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
. While living in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, Simkin was appointed by then-FMCS Director William Usery, Jr.
William Usery, Jr.
Willie Julian Usery, Jr. was a labor union activist and U.S. government political appointee who served as United States Secretary of Labor in the Ford administration....
in 1975 to mediate a century-old dispute between the Navajo
Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomous Native American-governed territory covering , occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico...
and Hopi
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
regarding a 1800000 acres (7,284.3 km²) tract that lies inside the Navajo reservation, with the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
mandating that the issue be settled through negotiation within six months.
In addition to serving as president of the National Academy of Arbitrators
National Academy of Arbitrators
The National Academy of Arbitrators is a not-for-profit 501 honorary and professional organization of labor arbitrators in the United States and Canada founded in 1947....
, Simkin was on the faculty of Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
from 1969 until 1973. He was the author of Mediation and the Dynamics of Collective Bargaining, published by the Bureau of National Affairs
Bureau of National Affairs
The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. — known as BNA — is an independent, privately owned publisher of specialized online and print news and information for professionals in business and government, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, USA...
in 1971.
Personal
Simkin died at age 85 on March 4, 1992, at his home in Haverford, PennsylvaniaHaverford, Pennsylvania
Haverford is an unincorporated community located partially in Haverford Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA, but primarily in Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, about west of Philadelphia. It is on the Main Line, which is known historically for its wealth. As of August 2009,...
due to congestive heart failure
Congestive heart failure
Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...
.
He was survived by his wife, two sons, six grandchildren and three great grandchildren.