Lee Pressman

Lee Pressman
Lee Pressman during testimony to a U.S. Senate subcommittee on March 24, 1938
Born
Leon Pressman

July 1, 1906
New York City, U.S.
DiedNovember 20, 1969(1969-11-20) (aged 63)
Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.
Other names"Vig" (VENONA), "Comrade Big" (anti-communists)
Alma materCornell University (B.A., 1926)
Harvard Law School (J.D., 1929)
Employer(s)Chadbourne, Stanchfield & Levy, AAA, WPA, Resettlement Administration, CIO, Progressive Party
Known formembership in Ware Group, IJA, NLG
Notable workCIO union collective bargaining
Political partyCommunist
American Labor
SpouseSophia Platnik
ChildrenAnne Pressman, Susan Pressman, Marcia Pressman
Parent(s)Harry Pressman, Clara Pressman
RelativesIrving Pressman (brother)

Lee Pressman (July 1, 1906 – November 20, 1969) was a labor attorney and earlier a US government functionary, publicly alleged in 1948 to have been a spy for Soviet intelligence during the mid-1930s (as a member of the Ware Group), following his recent departure from Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) as a result of its purge of Communist Party members and fellow travelers. From 1936 to 1948, he represented the CIO and member unions in landmark collective bargaining deals with major corporations including General Motors and U.S. Steel. According to journalist Murray Kempton, anti-communists referred to him as "Comrade Big."[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][excessive citations]

  1. ^ Gall, Gilbert J. (1998). Pursuing Justice: Lee Pressman, the New Deal, and the CIO. SUNY Press. pp. 6–12 (birth, childhood, schooling), 14–16 (Harvard), 17–18 (Chadbourne), 18–20 (IJA), 20 (Witt), 21 (Liebman, Blumenthal & Levy), 23–34 (AAA, Abt, Bacharach), 32 (skill), 34–43 (Ware Group), 43–44 (NYC), 46–231 (CIO years 1936–1948), 60–62 (Peters, Chambers recommendations), 63–71 (Flint), 92–93 (TWU), 114–115 (NLG radicals), 125 (CBS radio Jan 1940), 135–136 (NDMB and NAA strike), 175–178 (Bridges v. Wixon), 183–184 (CIO-PAC), 187–189 (FBI CPUSA), 192–197 (WFTU), 209 (NBC June 1946), 213–215 (IUMMSW), 264 (Comrade Big), 302–303 (MEBA). ISBN 9780791441039. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  2. ^ Marion Dickerman and Ruth Taylor (eds.), Who's Who In Labor: The Authorized Biographies of the Men and Women Who Lead Labor in the United States and Canada and of Those Who Deal with Labor. New York: The Dryden Press, 1946; pg.286.
  3. ^ Chambers, Whittaker (1952). Witness. Random House. pp. 346, 624. ISBN 0-89526-571-0.
  4. ^ "Lee Pressman, Labor Lawyer Ancl Ex-C.I.O. Counsel, 63, Dies; Former Negotiator in Union Contracts Served as Aide to Agriculture Secretary". New York Times. 21 November 1969. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Lee Pressman, 63, CIO, WPA Counsel". Washington Post. 22 November 1969.
  6. ^ "Labor: End of the Line?". Time. 16 February 1948. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  7. ^ Klehr, Harvey; Haynes, John Earl; Vassiliev, Alexander (2009). Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America. With John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. pp. 282 (Pressman dinner for Kramer), 425–428. ISBN 9780300155723. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  8. ^ Seigel, Kalman (18 October 1948). "Race for Congress Lively in Brooklyn: Multer and Pressman Followers Well Organized in Fight Over Former's Seat". New York Times. p. 13. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  9. ^ Kempton, Murray (1955). Part of Our Time: Some Ruins and Monuments of the Thirties. Simon and Schuster. pp. 74, 79. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  10. ^ "Here's Proof of Communist Control of New 'Progressive' Party" (PDF). New York: Counterattack: Facts to Combat Communism. 30 July 1948. p. 7. Retrieved 14 June 2017.