Jack Knight
American labor unionist
About Jack Knight
Lived 1902 – 1981 (aged 78–79).
Orie Albert "Jack" Knight (September 24, 1902 – April 16, 1981) was an American labor unionist.
Born in New Hampton, Iowa, Knight worked in highway construction before moving to East Chicago, Indiana, to work for Shell Oil. He rose to become a stillman, and joined what became the Oil Workers' International Union. In 1933, he helped the union establish itself in Hammond, Indiana, and he then began working full-time as a union organizer, mostly in California.
In 1940, Knight was elected as president of the union, and under his leadership, its membership grew steadily. The union was affiliated to the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), and in 1947, he was elected as a vice-president of the CIO. He represented the CIO in the unity negotiations which produced the AFL–CIO in 1955, becoming one of its vice-presidents, and also chair of its Interamerican Affairs Committee. At the same time, he merged the union into the new Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers International Union (OCAW), becoming the president of the largest oil or chemical workers' union in the world.
Knight retired as president of OCAW in 1965,
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Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Jack Knight's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Jack Knight?
American labor unionist (1902-1981)
When was Jack Knight born?
Jack Knight was born in 1902.
When did Jack Knight die?
Jack Knight died in 1981.
Sources & further reading
· DBpedia: Jack Knight (unionist)
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Jack Knight. https://biography.guide/jack-knight/
MLA: "Jack Knight." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jack-knight/.
Chicago: "Jack Knight." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jack-knight/.
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