Irving Brown

Irving Brown (November 20, 1911 – February 10, 1989 ) was an American trade unionist and leader in the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and subsequently the AFL-CIO. Brown played a prominent role in Western Europe and Africa during the Cold War in splintering communist-led labor movements. Along with expelled former Communist Party of the USA member Jay Lovestone, he founded the American Institute for Free Labor Development in 1962.

Early life Born in the Bronx, New York City, in 1911, During the latter half of the 1930s, Brown was an organizer for the Automobile Workers Union. In 1940 Brown began to organize for the American Federation of Labor on a national level, and by 1942 Brown had become a labor representative to the War Production Board.

As a lieutenant of the US Army, he helped the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) plan the invasion of Sicily and the landing in the south in Provence.

Cold War He arrived in Paris in November 1945 and organized anticommunist unions. He supported in particular the creation of the French Force ouvrière (FO) union, which he subsidized and other anticommunist unions in Europe.

In 1949, alongside Jay Lovestone, he supported the split in the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) to create the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU).

In 1952, he was in Helsinki to support the trade unionists who had decided to vote to quit the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) of mainly-communist unions.

Later life Brown started suffering from serious health problems in 1986. He was decorated by US President Ronald Reagan in 1988 of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and he died the following year.

Publications Articles "Algerians Die for Freedom, not Moscow." Africa Today, vol. 3, no. 4 (Jul.-Aug. 1956), p. 6. .