Lynn R. Williams

Lynn Russell Williams, OC (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.

Lynn Russell Williams was born July 21, 1924 to a religious family in Springfield, Ontario, Canada. His father, Rev. 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.

Williams initially planned to follow in his father's footsteps by becoming a clergyman, but his goals changed during the Great Depression when the United Church of Canada moved his father to the industrial city of Hamilton, Ontario, where he was drawn into the trade union movement with a view to improving the lives of people on earth. He attended McMaster University in Hamilton, where he studied English and philosophy. It was during the course of his collegiate career that Williams became enamored with the idea of industrial democracy, worker participation in the decision-making process of production.

Williams served on year in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II following completion of his undergraduate studies. Upon conclusion of the war and his discharge from the military, Williams enrolled in the graduate school of the University of Toronto, where he obtained a Masters degree in Economics and Industrial Relations.

Williams became a USW member in 1947 while employed by John Inglis and Company, Local 2900 in Toronto, Ontario. He became actively involved in the local activities of the union.

...
Wikipedia