Alexander John Rohan (February 2, 1911[1] – December 30, 1985) was an American labor union leader.
Born in Haverstraw, New York, Rohan was educated in Yonkers, New York, and in 1932 began work at Turner Press, a commercial printing plant. That year, he joined the International Printing Pressmen and Assistants' Union of North America (IPPU).[2] He soon became a delegate to the city's Central Labor Council.[3]
Rohan moved to Washington D.C. in 1938, working full-time for the union after World War II. He represented the union in cases before the Wage Stabilization Board and the National Labor Relations Board.[3] He also spent time on secondment to the United States Department of State and the United States Department of Labor, during which time he was a special advisor to the Japanese labor movement.[4]
Rohan became a vice-president of the IPPU in 1953, and was then elected as secretary-treasurer in 1961.[2] In 1970, he was elected as the union's president, defeating Walter Turner.[5] The same year, he was elected as a vice-president of the AFL-CIO.[2] He negotiated a merger in 1973 which formed the International Printing and Graphic Communications Union, becoming the new union's founding president,[6] but retired from the union the following year.[4]
Rohan stood down from his AFL-CIO post in 1974. In retirement, he served on the Foreign Service Selection Board.[4]
References
edit- ^ Who's Who in the South and Southwest. Marquis. 1973.
- ^ a b c "Council elects Rohan to fill vacant seat". AFL-CIO News. August 8, 1970.
- ^ a b "New officer to be feted by Pressmen". Washington Post. November 11, 1953.
- ^ a b c "Alex Rohan dies, former AFL-CIO vice president". AFL-CIO News. January 4, 1986.
- ^ "Rohan elected by Pressmen". Washington Post. June 12, 1970.
- ^ "Pressmen, Stereotypers merge to form new printing union". Michigan AFL-CIO News. October 10, 1973.