John S. Kirchner (1857 – 1912) was an American labor unionist.
Kirchner was born in Maryland,[1] to a German family.[2] He became a cigar maker, and in 1877, he joined a local of the Knights of Labor. He joined the Cigar Makers' International Union (CMIU), organizing local 100 in Philadelphia. He was also active in the Philadelphia Central Labor Union, serving as its financial secretary in the mid-1880s.[1]
In 1885, Kirchner became the fourth vice-president of the CMIU, and its full-time organizer for Pennsylvania.[1] Politically, he was considered to have anarchist sympathies, something which proved controversial with some other labor unionists. However, in 1886, William H. Foster, secretary of the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions (FOTLU), died, and Kirchner was appointed to complete his term. This was the leading position in the country's largest labor federation.[1]
A few months after Kirchner became secretary of FOTLU, it was reorganized as the American Federation of Labor.[1] He was nominated as secretary of the new organization, but refused the nomination.[3] In 1887, he left his labor union posts, but remained a member of the union. In 1902, local 100 merged into local 165, of which he became a member until his death, in 1912.[1]
john, kirchner, 1857, 1912, american, labor, unionist, kirchner, born, maryland, german, family, became, cigar, maker, 1877, joined, local, knights, labor, joined, cigar, makers, international, union, cmiu, organizing, local, philadelphia, also, active, philad. John S Kirchner 1857 1912 was an American labor unionist Kirchner was born in Maryland 1 to a German family 2 He became a cigar maker and in 1877 he joined a local of the Knights of Labor He joined the Cigar Makers International Union CMIU organizing local 100 in Philadelphia He was also active in the Philadelphia Central Labor Union serving as its financial secretary in the mid 1880s 1 In 1885 Kirchner became the fourth vice president of the CMIU and its full time organizer for Pennsylvania 1 Politically he was considered to have anarchist sympathies something which proved controversial with some other labor unionists However in 1886 William H Foster secretary of the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions FOTLU died and Kirchner was appointed to complete his term This was the leading position in the country s largest labor federation 1 A few months after Kirchner became secretary of FOTLU it was reorganized as the American Federation of Labor 1 He was nominated as secretary of the new organization but refused the nomination 3 In 1887 he left his labor union posts but remained a member of the union In 1902 local 100 merged into local 165 of which he became a member until his death in 1912 1 References edit a b c d e f The Samuel Gompers Papers University of Illinois Press 1986 ISBN 9780252033896 Shore Elliott Danky James Fones Wolf Ken 1992 The German American Radical Press Chicago University of Illinois Press ISBN 9780252018305 Official Report of the Proceedings of the Second Annual Convention American Federation of Labor 1887 Trade union offices Preceded byWilliam H Foster Secretary of the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions1886 Succeeded byFederation reorganized Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John S Kirchner amp oldid 1161311056, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
