June 13 - Tony Mazzocchi is Born

On this day in labor history, the year was 1926.

That was the day union leader Tony Mazzocchi was born. 

He is remembered as a long-time leader and international official with the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers union. 

Mazzocchi was a primary force behind the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. 

He was also centrally involved in the grievances Karen Silkwood brought against the Kerr-McGee Company. 

During the 90s, he worked tirelessly to establish a Labor Party as an independent political force that could truly represent working people. 

Mazzocchi was born in Brooklyn, New York to a union family. 

After fighting in World War II, he hired on at a cosmetics factory organized by the Gas Workers Union. 

He quickly emerged as a leader, fought for the rights of women workers and soon became president of his local. 

He would go on to aid in the merging of his union with Oil Workers International that created OCAW. 

Within 10 years, he had become the international’s Citizenship-Legislative Director. 

Many have noted that Mazzocchi was one of the first labor leaders to build ties with the environmental movement. 

He linked hazards in the workplace with hazards in the environment.

He showed how workers and the public shared similar concerns about health and safety. 

He pioneered the blue-green alliance that continues to advocate green blue-collar jobs, built union reading clubs and pushed his members towards social justice unionism.

Mazzocchi was a coalition builder and worked with allies for clean water and air, single payer health care, free education and just trade policies.

The United Steel Workers named their Health, Safety and the Environment Center in his honor.  

He died in 2002 of pancreatic cancer. He was 76.