Flip to James Kennedy, United Electrical Workers, United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America Local 506, Erie, PA, circa 1950. Close Window
Credit: UE News Photograph Collection, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
After the Erie Electrical Workers (UE) local supported Progressive Party candidate Henry Wallace rather than Democrat Harry Truman in the presidential election of 1948, CIO president Philip Murray formed a rival union, the International Union of Electrical Workers (IUE), to regain control. The effort failed, however, as Erie's electrical workers continued to support UE local president John Nelson, even after the IUE branded Nelson as a Communist.
