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33 Facts About Henry Foner

1.

Henry Joseph Foner was a 20th-century Jewish-American social activist and president for more than two decades of the Joint Board, Fur, Leather and Machine Workers Union.

2.

Henry Foner was born on March 23,1919, the youngest of four brothers.

3.

Henry Foner was raised in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.

4.

Henry Foner's father Abraham Foner delivered seltzer; his mother Mary Smith was a homemaker.

5.

Henry Foner was said to be a member of the Young Communist League as a youth, and later wrote a song called "Love in the YCL".

6.

Henry Foner attended Eastern District High School and earned a degree in business administration from the City College of New York in 1939, near the end of the Great Depression.

7.

Henry Foner began his work career by organizing an anti-World War II puppet show.

8.

From 1942 to 1946 during and after World War II, Henry Foner served in the US Army in Italy and Austria.

9.

Henry Foner was awarded the Legion of Merit and the Italian Military Valor Cross.

10.

From 1940 to 1948, Henry Foner was a member of the Teachers Union.

11.

In 1961, Henry Foner was elected as FLM president, being re-elected and serving until 1988.

12.

Henry Foner served as vice-chairman of the Liberal Party of New York.

13.

In 1973, Henry Foner went to Spain to observe a Carabanchel Ten trial.

14.

Henry Foner has said that, during his decades in the FLM, he worked to keep the union free of corruption, and to insulate the union from criticism that it was Communist-led.

15.

Henry Foner "helped to organize union representation at the Labor Assembly for Peace in Chicago".

16.

Henry Foner was a "leader of the Liberal Party", founded in 1944 by George Counts as alternative to the American Labor Party which was perceived to be unduly influenced by communists.

17.

Henry Foner served as president of the Paul Robeson Foundation.

18.

Henry Foner co-wrote the musical, Thursdays 'Til Nine, presented in 1947 by the Department Store Employees Union.

19.

Henry Foner performed for the Catskills Institute on many occasions.

20.

Henry Foner was a long-time friend of Pete Seeger, whom he knew for more than 60 years.

21.

Henry Foner discusses his background as a political activist, musician, and teacher.

22.

Henry Foner describes the leadership style and significant activities of Gold.

23.

Henry Foner discusses the political liabilities of the Communist presence in union leadership, and steps which Gold took to diffuse or preempt criticism.

24.

Henry Foner describes the corruption in the labor movement in the 50s and 60s as well as the furriers' avoidance of corruption under its leftist leadership.

25.

Henry Foner helped to organize union representation at the Labor Assembly for Peace in Chicago.

26.

Henry Foner explains his own reasons for his engagement with the Liberal Party, and describes relations with politicians and labor leaders such as Lindsay, Ed Koch, David Dubinsky, Al Shanker, Victor Gotbaum, and Jack Sheinkman.

27.

Henry Foner compares and contrasts the policies and histories of the Amalgamated, ILGWU, and his own union.

28.

Henry Foner was the youngest of four brothers who became prominent in New York City:.

29.

Henry Foner's niece is Nancy Foner, Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Hunter College.

30.

Henry Foner died on January 11,2017, at the age of 97, from cardiovascular disease.

31.

Henry J Foner [was] the last of four brothers from New York City who were denied academic jobs in the 1940s for Communist ties and later were champions of organized labor, higher education and progressive political causes.

32.

In 2008, the morning after he underwent hip replacement surgery, Mr Henry Foner was visited in his hospital room by his surgeon.

33.

Henry Foner composed many songs, including those collected courtesy of Labor Arts.