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Lewis realized that the New Deal gave labor an unprecedented opportunity for the AFL to organize mass-production workers. Lewis, however, had to fight the conservative leadership of the AFL, which was opposed to including the unskilled workers. In 1934 and 1935 Lewis used the power and resources of the UMW to lead the struggle within the AFL. At the 1935 AFL convention Lewis blasted its leaders for what he characterized as "twenty-five years of unbroken failure." William Hutcheson, the leader of the carpenters union, called Lewis a "big bastard" after Lewis announced that the thirty million nonskilled workers should be accepted into the AFL ranks. Lewis jumped over a row of chairs and hit Hutcheson square in the jaw with an uppercut. People scrambled to separate the two, and Hutcheson emerged bloodied. A few minutes later, Lewis relit his cigar and casually strolled back to the podium. The right...
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This section contains 182 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) |
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