Thomas Donahue
 Thomas Donahue      (labor leader) | ||||||||||||||
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| Born | September 4, 1928 | |||||||||||||
| Died | February 18, 2023 (Age 94) | |||||||||||||
| Nationality | US | |||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Manhattan College, Fordham University School of Law | |||||||||||||
| Member of | American Committee for Peace in Chechnya, Brookings Institution, Carnegie Corporation, Council on Foreign Relations/Historical Members, Council on Foreign Relations/Members, National Endowment for Democracy/Board | |||||||||||||
Spooky US Labor leader, CFR, two Bilderbergs. Later Vice-Chair of the CIA-front National Endowment for Democracy.
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Thomas R. Donahue was a spooky US labor leader. He wrote a working paper on The Prospects for Full Employment for the 1983 Bilderberg.[1] He was Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO from 1979 to 1995, and Vice-Chair of the CIA-front National Endowment for Democracy.
He was considered one of the most influential leaders of the post-World War II American trade union movement. In 1973, then AFL-CIO President George Meany tapped Donahue to be his executive assistant. [2] He was second in command to Lane Kirkland, president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. for 16 years, and briefly his interim successor.[3]
Activities
The younger Donahue worked as a Best & Company department store elevator operator, a school bus driver, a bakery worker, and a doorman. Donahue graduated from Manhattan College in 1949 with a degree in labor relations.[4] From 1949 to 1957, he held several positions with Local 32B, the flagship local of the Building Service Employees International Union (BSEIU), including business agent, education director, contractor director, and publications editor.[5] Meanwhile, he attended night classes at Fordham Law School and received his law degree in 1956.[4]
In 1957, he became the European labor program coordinator for the Free Europe Committee in Paris. He returned to the United States in 1960 to take a position as executive assistant to David Sullivan, the newly elected president of the BSEIU.
Donahue was nominated by President Lyndon Johnson as Assistant Secretary for Labor-Management Relations in the Labor Department in 1967. He served in that position until the end of the Johnson administration in 1969, then returned to the Service Employees International Union, as it was by then called, where he served as executive secretary and later first vice-president.
Donahue became executive assistant to the president of the AFL-CIO, George Meany, in 1973.
Already an influential figure as Meany's executive assistant, when Meany retired in 1979 Donahue was elected Secretary-Treasurer, the second-ranking position in the AFL-CIO. The week of his election, the New York Times reported that "his position is a strong one. The federation is generally regarded as the voice of labor. And Mr. Donahue is an intelligent man with clear opinions."[6]
For the next 16 years, Donahue was involved in virtually every part of the trade union movement. But his strongest influence was in three areas: the campaign against the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), rejuvenation of the union movement, and advancing Catholic social teaching on workers' rights.
Beyond the AFL-CIO, Donahue oversaw what The New York Times described as the federation's "lobbying, petition drives and $3.2 million in billboard and radio advertising."[7] He testified before Congress against NAFTA at least nine times.[8] He appeared on such TV shows as NBC's Meet the Press[9] and CNN's Late Edition.[10] He frequently wrote articles, letters to editors, and op-ed pieces for leading newspapers.[11]
He was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations the Carnegie Corporation, and the Brookings Institution.
Events Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilderberg/1980 | 18 April 1980 | 20 April 1980 | Germany Aachen | The 28th Bilderberg, held in West Germany, unusually exposed by the Daily Mirror |
| Bilderberg/1983 | 13 May 1983 | 15 May 1983 | Canada Quebec Château Montebello | The 31st Bilderberg, held in Canada |
References
- ↑ File:Bilderberg-Conference-Report-1983.pdf
- ↑ https://www.seafarers.org/seafarerslogs/2023/04/labor-movement-mourns-passing-of-tom-donahue/
- ↑ https://labor411.org/411-blog/former-afl-cio-secretary-treasurer-thomas-donahue-has-passed-away/
- ↑ a b https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/19/obituaries/thomas-donahue-dead.html
- ↑ William Serrin, "AFL-CIO's 2d in Command," New York Times, November 22, 1979.
- ↑ William Serrin, "AFL-CIO's 2d in Command," New York Times, November 22, 1979.
- ↑ Peter T. Kilborn, "The Free Trade Accord: Little Voices Roar in the Chorus of Trade-Pact Foes," New York Times, November 13, 1993.
- ↑ According to the ProQuest Congressional database, Donahue appeared before Congress 62 times while he was an AFL-CIO executive officer. He testified on topics ranging from job safety and health to pay equity for women workers to US policy towards South Africa.
- ↑ "I cannot exaggerate the depth of feeling on the issue," AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Thomas R. Donahue said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "It burned very deeply." (Jim Abrams, Associated Press, "Labor Aide Says NAFTA May Cost Clinton Support." Published in Buffalo News, November 22, 1993.)
- ↑ After then-President Bill Clinton attacked the union movement for what he said were "real roughshod, muscle-bound tactics," Donahue on Late Edition described Clinton's remarks as "a cheap shot" and observed, "I think the administration is behind right now in the vote and they're reaching desperately to get ahead." (Gwen Ifill, "Clinton Is Critical of Labor on Trade," New York Times, November 8, 1993.)
- ↑ Three examples are "Free Trade with Mexico: Conspiracy for the Rich" (Washington Post, March 14, 1991), "Put the brakes on free trade with Mexico" (USA Today, April 10, 1991), and "The No-Brain, Low-Wage Road" (Baltimore Sun, September 12, 1993).
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