John McBride (labor leader)

John McBride (1854 – October 9, 1917) was an American labor union leader.

John McBride
2nd President of the United Mine Workers
In office 1892–1895
Preceded by	John B. Rae
Succeeded by	Phil Penna
2nd President of the AFL
In office 1894–1895
Preceded by	Samuel Gompers
Succeeded by	Samuel Gompers
Personal details
Born	1854 Wayne County, Ohio, U.S.
Died	October 9, 1917 (age 63) Globe, Arizona, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Miner; Labor leader
Known for	President, United Mine Workers of America

McBride was born in Wayne County, Ohio, in 1854. He started working in the coal mines at the age of nine. In 1870, McBride joined the Ohio Miners' Union, and in 1883 he became its president, a post that he retained until 1889. After serving briefly in the Ohio legislature as a Democrat from 1884 to 1888, McBride helped found the Ohio People’s Party in 1891. In 1892, McBride was elected president of the United Mine Workers.[1]

McBride's prominence continued to rise with the growth of the Populist Movement in the American Midwest, and in 1894, McBride unseated labor icon Samuel Gompers as president of the American Federation of Labor. Not long after assuming the office, however, McBride became embroiled in conflicts with other union leaders and his popularity declined. Gompers regained the presidency the following year.[2]

McBride was standing on a street corner in Globe, Arizona, when a runaway horse knocked him through a plate glass window, causing severe lacerations in his leg, a severed artery, great loss of blood, and death.[3]

References

1. United Mine Workers Journal. United Mine Workers of America. January 18, 1917. p. 5.
2. Taft, Philip. The A.F. of L. in the Time of Gompers. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1957.
3. "John McBride, Labor Leader, Is Killed. New York Times. October 10, 1917.