Philip Murray

Born May 25, 1886, in Blantyre; died Nov. 9, 1952, in San Francisco. Trade union leader in the USA.

Of Scottish descent, Murray lived in the USA from 1902. He was a member of the executive committee of the miners’ union from 1912 and vice-president of the union from 1920 to 1942; he was also head of the organizing committee of the steelworkers’ union from 1936 to 1942 and president of that union from 1942. As vice-president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) from 1936 and as its president from 1940 to 1952, Murray was the leader of the organization’s right wing. An advocate of the idea that workers and employers have common interests, Murray fought against progressive trade unions and Communist participation in their activities.