Alex Bail
Encyclopedia
Alex Bail was an American radical and union leader.
in Bridgman, Michigan
.
Bail attended the third national convention of the Workers Party of America (Dec 30, 1923-Jan 2, 1924) representing the third district, centered in Philadelphia. At the party's 5th convention in 1927 he was made a candidate member of the Central Executive Committee, and by the end of the year was district organizer in the party's first district, centered in Boston. He remained in that position for the rest of his tenure as a member of the American Communist Party.
He was again elected CEC candidate at the party's 6th Convention in March 1929, but soon left the party after the expulsion of party leader Jay Lovestone
and a group of about 200 loyalists around him.
When Lovestone and his co-thinkers established a formal organization called the Communist Party (Majority Group), Bail enlisted in that organization as a member of the group's original National Council. He stayed with the organization for the duration of its existence.
While in the Lovestone organization he adopted a "party name
" "George F. Miles." In the late 1930s he was put in charge of the Lovestonites operation in the United Auto Workers
assisting Homer Martin in his fight with the communists within that union. The factional fight would eventually lead to Martin's group being ousted from leadership of the UAW and leading a rump organization back into the AFL. During this period he was assisted by his wife, Eve Smith, who became head of the UAW's Women's Auxillery.
in their conflict with the New York Board of Transportation
over wages and hours of work for transit workers. The committee pressured Mayor William O'Dwyer
into naming a fact finding commission to see if this financially tenable. In 1952 Bail became president of the Playthings, Jewelry and Novelty Workers Union after the executive board expelled A. H. Esposito and his Local 223 for signing a contract with a jewelry box factory in Queens in the midst of a strike.
In 1954 the Plaything, Jewelry and Novelty Workers International Union voted to merge with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union
. The PJNWIU had about 20,000 members at the time of the merger. Bail became an executive vice president of the RWDSU. He retired in 1970, becoming vice-president emeritus.
Communist years
Bail entered the US labor movement in 1922. He was also an early member of the Communist Party of America, arrested in August that year attending the parties underground second convention1922 Bridgman Convention
The 1922 Bridgman Convention was a secret conclave of the underground Communist Party of America held in August 1922 near the small town of Bridgman, Michigan, about outside of the city of Chicago on the banks of Lake Michigan...
in Bridgman, Michigan
Bridgman, Michigan
Bridgman is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,428 at the 2000 census. The Bridgman post office, with ZIP code 49106 opened with the name "Laketon" on November 11, 1862. The name changed to Bridgman on April 9, 1874...
.
Bail attended the third national convention of the Workers Party of America (Dec 30, 1923-Jan 2, 1924) representing the third district, centered in Philadelphia. At the party's 5th convention in 1927 he was made a candidate member of the Central Executive Committee, and by the end of the year was district organizer in the party's first district, centered in Boston. He remained in that position for the rest of his tenure as a member of the American Communist Party.
He was again elected CEC candidate at the party's 6th Convention in March 1929, but soon left the party after the expulsion of party leader Jay Lovestone
Jay Lovestone
Jay Lovestone was at various times a member of the Socialist Party of America, a leader of the Communist Party USA, leader of a small oppositionist party, an anti-Communist and Central Intelligence Agency helper, and foreign policy advisor to the leadership of the AFL-CIO and various unions...
and a group of about 200 loyalists around him.
When Lovestone and his co-thinkers established a formal organization called the Communist Party (Majority Group), Bail enlisted in that organization as a member of the group's original National Council. He stayed with the organization for the duration of its existence.
While in the Lovestone organization he adopted a "party name
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
" "George F. Miles." In the late 1930s he was put in charge of the Lovestonites operation in the United Auto Workers
United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial...
assisting Homer Martin in his fight with the communists within that union. The factional fight would eventually lead to Martin's group being ousted from leadership of the UAW and leading a rump organization back into the AFL. During this period he was assisted by his wife, Eve Smith, who became head of the UAW's Women's Auxillery.
Later career
By 1948 Bail had emerged as the secretary-treasurer of the Playthings, Jewelry and Novelty Workers Union, CIO. In 1950 he was member of an ad hoc committee of New York area CIO officials that was formed to "financially and morally" support the Transport Workers Union of AmericaTransport Workers Union of America
Transport Workers Union of America is a United States labor union that was founded in 1934 by subway workers in New York City, then expanded to represent transit employees in other cities, primarily in the eastern U.S. This article discusses the parent union and its largest local, Local 100,...
in their conflict with the New York Board of Transportation
New York City Department of Transportation
The New York City Department of Transportation is responsible for the management of much of New York City's transportation infrastructure...
over wages and hours of work for transit workers. The committee pressured Mayor William O'Dwyer
William O'Dwyer
William O'Dwyer was the 100th Mayor of New York City, holding that office from 1946 to 1950.-Biography:O'Dwyer was born in County Mayo, Ireland and migrated to the United States in 1910, after abandoning studies for the priesthood...
into naming a fact finding commission to see if this financially tenable. In 1952 Bail became president of the Playthings, Jewelry and Novelty Workers Union after the executive board expelled A. H. Esposito and his Local 223 for signing a contract with a jewelry box factory in Queens in the midst of a strike.
In 1954 the Plaything, Jewelry and Novelty Workers International Union voted to merge with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union
Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union
Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union is a labor union in the United States and Canada that is a semi-autonomous division of the United Food and Commercial Workers, Change to Win Federation...
. The PJNWIU had about 20,000 members at the time of the merger. Bail became an executive vice president of the RWDSU. He retired in 1970, becoming vice-president emeritus.