Desser, Abraham Albert, 1902-1979
Dates
- Existence: 1902 - 1979
Biography
Abraham Albert Desser was born in 1902 in Poland. In 1919, he entered the garment industry in Toronto, Canada. He soon was elected Secretary of the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union. By the mid 1930s, Desser had moved to the U.S and had become the international representative of the ILGWU. He was also commissioned as general organizer for the State of Massachusetts where he organized unions, affiliated local one with the AFL, engages in collective bargaining negotiations and handled grievances through arbitration. From 1943-1947, Desser was supervisor for the National Industrial Conference Board (NICB) of its Management Research Division. This branch of the NICB was then concerned with collective bargaining research. His column "Trends in Collective Bargaining," appeared monthly in the "Conference Board Management Record." After a stint in 1949 as a manpower advisor to President Truman, Desser served as an economic commissioner and diplomat from 1949-1951. In 1952, Desser joined the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Through 1972, he contributed to the settlement of disputes between labor and management involving enterprises such as the Mack Truck Company and "The New York Times." Desser died in 1979.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Abraham A. Desser papers
Abraham Albert Desser (1902-1979), labor leader. The collection contains correspondence, scrapbooks, clippings and other printed matter, relating to his career in the American labor movement.