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WILLIAM L. KIRCHER, 1915-1989: A Biographical
Sketch
By
Rudolph Lewis Born
March 2, 1915, in Athens, Ohio, William "Bill" Kircher
rose from the labor union ranks to hold the AFL-CIO post of
Director of Organization from 1965 to 1973. A well-liked fellow,
Bill Kircher's life was long and studded with many achievements.
Kircher
graduated in June 1932 from Athens public schools. He then
attended Ohio University and graduated in 1936 with a bachelor's
degree in journalism. He worked as a reporter and editor for the
Athens Messenger (1935-1936) and as editor for La Peunte Valley
Journal (1936-1937). From 1937 to 1941 he also served as editor
for several community newspapers in the Cincinnati area. Kircher's
union activity began with editorial employees on several
newspapers in Ohio; he helped to bring them into the American
Newspaper Guild.
In
1940 Kircher went to work for the Wright Aeronautical Plant in
Evansdale. While working at this defense plant, he helped form UAW
Local 647 and served from 1941‑1943 as the local's
full‑time Education Director.
In
1943, Bill Kircher was appointed a UAW international
representative. During the next twelve years, he served in four
capacities: Education Director for Ohio‑West
Virginia-Eastern Pennsylvania region (1947-1949); West Coast
Director for UAW International Aircraft Department (1949-1951);
and Assistant to UAW International Union Vice President Jack
Livingston in Detroit (1952-1955). In 1951, Kircher served as
Director of UAW
International Union's Wage Stabilization Office in Washington
For
a year (1955-1956), Kircher was assistant director to Livingston,
who became the first Director of Organization for the newly merged
AFL-CIO. The next seven years (1956-1963) Kircher held the post of
Assistant Regional Director for Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky.
During this period he helped to bring back into the AFL-CIO
various local unions of national unions which had been expelled
from AFL-CIO for unethical or corrupt practices in 1957.
From
1963 to 1965, Bill Kircher served again in the position of
Assistant Director of AFL-CIO Department of Organization. In
December 1965, at the age of 50, Kircher became National AFL-CIO
Director of Organization, one of the then three constitutional
offices in AFL-CIO.
After
he served eight years as Director of Organization, in 1973, Bill
Kircher left this AFL‑CIO leadership post and accepted an
appointment from Ed Hanley, General President, Hotel and
Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union (HRE &
BIU). From his Washington office, he lobbied for a change in
minimum wage legislation that would cover low paid workers such as
waiters, bartenders, and busboys.
After
four years of service to HRE & BIU, Bill Kircher retired from
full‑time work, January 1, 1979. He, however, serve as
"Standby Consultant" for HRE & BIU and Bakery,
Confectionery and Tobacco Workers Union. He also served as
Arbitrator for Detroit
Police Officers Association in Tripartite Compulsory Arbitration
matters and Consultant to the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services HMO program.
In
1967, Kircher was appointed for a nine-year term a trustee of Ohio
University. In 1975, he was appointed a trustee of the University
of Cincinnati.
In 1940 Bill Kircher
married Hilda B. Espel of Cincinnati. They had two children:
Thomas J. Kircher, Cincinnati attorney (born 1940); and Mary
Josephine Huck, housewife, teacher, and artist (born 1942). In
1980, Kircher had four grandchildren (two boys and two girls).
In
November 1989, William L. Kircher died at the age of 74. A
memorial service was held in the lobby of the AFL-CIO headquarters
building in Washington for the former AFL-CIO organizing director.
* * * * *
Response Dear Mr. Lewis,
I want to express my appreciation for your accurate and thoughtful
biography of my Uncle Bill. While many scholars of the labor movement
know of his work with Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, his
efforts on behalf of low wage hotel workers is less well-known. Thank
you for helping to keep the memory of his work alive.
Sincerely, Chris
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updated
25 July 2008
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