Ben Legere | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | May 30, 1887 |
| Died | January 29, 1972 (aged 84) |
| Occupation | Labor leader |
| Partner | Matilda Robbins |
Ben Legere was a union organizer for the IWW and OBU within New England & Canada during the life of those labor groups.[1][2]
In the 1900s, Legere lived in Bridgeport, Connecticut. There he worked as a machinist and railroad clerk. He was a member of the Socialist Party's industrial union wing and aided Connecticut textile workers during the spring of 1912. He also late coordinated speaking tours for Ettor-Giovanitti defense committee.[1]
That fall, the IWW sent him to help textile strikers during the 1912–1913 Little Falls textile strike. He was quickly arrested on trumped charges, spending a year in jail until release. He then began a career as a professional actor. While touring Canada in 1919, he saw the unrest that led to the Winnipeg General Strike. He also became the General Executive Board of the Canadian One Big Union (OBU).[2] At some point he ended up being deported to the United States by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for his beliefs but continued to advocate for the OBU.[1]
At the end of 1920 he formally split with the Amalgamated Textile Workers' Union. This was following the 1920 wage cuts that would lead up to the 1922 New England Textile Strike. After those wage cuts, he came to Lawrence, Massachusetts (the same time he formally split) to organize for a strike. In 1922, he was one of the labor leaders of that textile strike.[1]
- ^ a b c d Foner, Philip Sheldon; Foner, Philip Sheldon (January 1, 1991). History of the labor movement in the United States. 9: The T.U.E.L. to the end of the Gompers era / by Philip S. Foner. New York: Intl Publ. p. 375. ISBN 978-0-7178-0674-4.
- ^ a b "Walter P. Reuther Library (4941) Portrait, Ben Legere, 1910s-1920s". reuther.wayne.edu. Retrieved 2023-07-15.