Lynn R. Williams

Lynn Russell Williams (July 21, 1924 – May 5, 2014) was a Canadian labour leader best remembered as the International President of the United Steelworkers union (USW) from 1983 until his retirement in 1994. Williams was the first Canadian to head a major North American industrial union.

Biography

Early years Lynn Russell Williams was born July 21, 1924, to a religious family in Springfield, Ontario, Canada. His father, Waldemar Williams, was a minister in the United Church of Canada, and his mother, Emma Elizabeth (née Fisher) Williams, a devout homemaker. One of three siblings, Williams was named by his parents after the 20th-century Methodist theologian Lynn Harold Hough. He was assigned as an organizer in District 6, based in Toronto and including much of Canada in its purview. This structural change was accompanied by an increased emphasis on profit-sharing and job security as the union's objectives in negotiations. Williams was himself elected president of that organization.

Death and legacy

Lynn R. Williams died in Toronto on May 5, 2014, at the age of 89. He was survived by two daughters, two sons, and 11 grandchildren, his wife of 34 years having preceded him in death in 2000.

Williams is remembered as the first person to have served on both the Executive of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), although these positions were not served concurrently.

Works

Lynn R. Williams, One Day Longer: A Memoir. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press, 2011.