Reflections: Willie Lurye, Union Organizer
by Bernie Lurye
Willie
Lurye, at age 37 was a union organizer for the International Ladies Garment
Workers Union in New York City.
He headed up a team of
organizers within the garment district.
On May 9th. 1949
he was stabbed to death by hoodlums connected with New York's Mafia Godfather,
Albert Anestasia.
Willie death left a 33 year
old widow and four sons.
This story really begins
with Willie's parents, Max and Anna Lurye who came to America from their native
Russia in the early 1900s.
They settled in Chicago and
parented thirteen children.
Max became engaged in
organizing activities in the coming years like many others who were seeking
job security and
representation by a union that would help them improve their lives.
He in time organized closely
with Samuel Gompers who today still stands as the grandfather of the labor
movement.
‘One night while Max was
speaking to a group of workers about joining a union, when
Al Capone’s mobsters burst in and attempted to break-up the meeting.
Max threw the hoodlums out
of the meeting and it was just a few days later while
he was standing in front of the
union hall with a friend a
car sped by and fired a hail of bullets at them.
Max’s body caught many of
the bullets but he survived the attempt on his life but his friend was
shot dead.
This incident put an end to
his organizing days and in later years he moved to New York where he
became
activ
e
in political affairs and found many
old friends from his
home village in his native
Russia.
His daughter Minnie who was
always inspired by Max's organizing feats moved to NY also and found employment
in the largest union garment factory in NY. She had previously
married Bill Matheson a union organizer of many years and a WWI combat
veteran.
Min became very active in
her local union that had 22,000 members and was elected to a high position
within a few years
Union President, David
Dubinsky became aware of her union and political activities asked her and her
husband to go to the Wilkes Barre region of Pennsylvania to live and to organize
factories that at one time were located in the garment district and were
now considered run-away non-union factories.
Min settled in Wilkes Barre
and gave birth to two daughters. She became the regions first director, a post
she held for 25 years.
Within a few years Minnie
organized more than 10,000 garment workers employed in 100 sewing plants.
Many of them gangster owned.
At this point of time she
encouraged her brother Willie (1939) to move his family from Chicago to NY.
Willie did so and found
employment in the same garment factory that Minnie had worked in as a dress
presser. It wasn't to long afterwards that Willie started to become active in
his local union.
Min was eventually
transferred back to NYC to become
the Director of the Union Label Department.
She held that post for
several years before retiring in Wilkes Barre, PA
She once again became
involved in the affairs of her community.
When she passed away the
town erected a memorial plaque in her honor that presently sits in the town
square that cites her contributions to the community.
A book was written about her
life and adventures that's called “Fighting For The Union Label.”
Willie becomes more active
in his local union and gains wide recognition.
He also plays a leading role
in political organizations, organizing activities during elections and makes
many speeches throughout neighborhoods.
I was a mid-
teenager at the time but I
continued chasing after his coat
-tails learning and being more and more inspired by him.
In the mid-40s he left his
factory job to become a full time union organizer in the garment district where
he headed-up a group of organizers. I recall traveling on the subway after
school on many occasions to visit him on a picket line.
Organizing was a 24 hour job
so he was living away from home.
His organizing efforts were
very successful considering he was engaging non-union mafia owned shops ,a very
dangerous endeavor that would eventually bring an end to his young life.
On May 9th, 1949
Willie Lurye was stabbed to death in the garment center by hoodlums connected
with New York's Mafia God Father Albert Anestasia. His wife Bernice receives a
late night phone call threatening her life and she and her four sons live under
police protection for many months.
President David Dubinsky
called a halt to all production in the garment center on the day of his funeral.
The entire garment center
was at a standstill.
More than 15,000 garment
workers packed Manhattan Center where Willie Lurye 's body lied in state and
where a memorial service took place.
Max Lurye, Willies father is
overcome with emotion raised his fist towards the sky and shouted “I'm going to
organize, Willie and me.”
World famous Cantor Moshe
Oysher presided and sang the ritual for the deceased.
He later joined the Lurye
family at the gravesite to present the last rites for Willie.
More than 100,000 garment
workers lined the streets in tribute to Willie and as many as 10,000 garment
workers walked behind the hearse.
More than 100 automobiles
followed the hearse to the cemetery along with packed charter buses that the
union had provided. Willies mother was
so overcome with emotion she tried to through herself onto the casket as
it was being lowered.
She cried out that she
wanted to be buried with her son Willie.
More than 100 non-union
garment employers sign contracts with the union within a few weeks following
Willies murder.
Several years afterwards a
movie 'Gangsters In The Garment
Center' was made showing actual footage of Willies funeral.
Max Lurye passes away
exactly one week later. He died of a broken heart at age 72.
We are now back at the
cemetery and at Willies grave site.
Willies grave is re-opened
his casket visible. Max can
now be put to rest along side his
beloved son.
One year passes and a
memorial stone is unveiled at the cemetery that reads “William -Max Lurye
They Lived And Died For The Cause Of Labor.”
In the second year following
the murder the accused assailant surrenders to the famed columnist Walter
Winchell and is taken into custody. Winchell receives the $25,000 reward money
that was posted by the union and donates the money to the Damon Runyon Cancer
fund,
The accused admits that he
had been hiding out at the home of Albert Anestasia for 2 years.
A murder trail takes place
in Manhattan and the accused is found not guilty because two eye witnesses to
the murder perjured their testimony. Bernie Lurye, Willies oldest is now in the
military and is present at the trial. (1951)
The eye witnesses stand
trail for perjury soon after the acquittal and are found guilty and sent to
prison.
The accused is set free but
within a few months he is found murdered gang land style shortly after Albert
Anastasia is
murdered by a rival mafia family.
Bernie goes to work in
the same factory that Minnie and Willie worked following his military
duty.
He too becomes a union
activist and within six years he becomes a staffed union organizer in Upstate NY
and is successful during his very first organizing assignment that led to a 26
week strike and a victory for the workers. Bernie is
later transferred to Pennsylvania where he rises through the ranks and
years later becomes the District
Manager that represented thousands of garment workers, a post he held for many
years.
Bernie and his wife have
been full time residents of Estero, Florida for the past 17 years. They have
four children and seven grandchildren. They worship weekly at the Community Free
Synagogue.
Their
son
Bill Lurye a labor law
attorney is presently an Associate
General Counsel of the AFL-CIO in
Washington, DC. He follows in the footsteps of his great grandfather,
grandfather and father.
He previously was a senior
partner in a labor law firm in New Orleans that was engaged in many organizing
issues affecting thousands of
workers and many other related
issues affecting unions.
Bill's firm also represented
thousands of union members that were located
in nearby states.
His contributions span a
period of 27 years with the New Orleans labor law firm.
For several years, Bill
Lurye was continuously voted the
best labor lawyer in New Orleans.
Bill's wife Judy an
attorney, is currently employed by
the Department of Labor in Washington.
Judy in her own right is
very much an organizer.
She was totally immersed
in helping
to organize
hurricane Katrina victims even though she and her family were victims too
and were compelled to become refugees for six months in Pennsylvania.
However she continued her
organizing efforts
while outside her state and
she resumed those efforts
when she and her family returned to New Orleans working with community activists
and working closely with her United States Senator in Washington. On one
occasion she organized a bus trip to Washington with Katrina victims on board
for a demonstration near the White House seeking more help for New Orleans. She
has also been involved in numerous social issues of our times.
Labor Organizers: Max Lurye, Min Lurye,
Bill Matheson, Willie Lurye, Bernie Lurye,
Thank you all for helping so
many towards a better life.
We shall remember!