Louis Weinstock

Louis Weinstock
Weinstock in 1972
Born (1903-05-14) May 14, 1903
Tokaj, Austria-Hungary
DiedNovember 26, 1994(1994-11-26) (aged 91)
Redlands, California, U.S.
OccupationTrade unionist
Organizations
Known forSmith Act Trials
Political party
Communist Party USA

Louis Weinstock (May 14, 1903 – November 26, 1994) was a Hungarian-American trade unionist and leading functionary in the Communist Party USA.

Background

Louis Weinstock was born on near Tokaj, Hungary on May 14, 1903, into a Jewish family.[1]

Career

Weinstock, newly-elected secretary-treasurer of Painters, District Council 9, about to deliver his inaugural address at the union's headquarters, 290 Seventh Ave., July 3, 1940

Weinstock emigrated to the United States in 1924, settling in New York City and working as a painter until he lost his job in the Great Depression and became involved in union organizing.[2] In 1932, he became head of the AFL Trade Union Committee for Unemployment Insurance and Relief.[3] In this position, he helped convince the AFL to support unemployment compensation for its members.[4]

In 1936, Weinstock was elected secretary-treasurer of District Council 9 (representing New York City) of the Brotherhood of Painters and Decorators of America.[5] Over the next 11 years he served as either secretary-treasurer or president,[6] during which his leftist politics angered union leadership.[7] On June 29, 1940, he was re-elected on a pro-Communist, anti-war "Rank and File" slate.[8] In July 1946, he became a member of the Communist Party national board.[9] He later served as the business manager of the Daily Worker.[10] In 1951, Mátyás Rákosi told Joseph Starobin that Weinstock was an FBI informant but American leaders in the Party did not believe the accusation.[11]

Investigations

Weinstock's FBI mugshot, 1951

Weinstock was indicted under the Smith Act on June 20, 1950, along with twenty other leaders in the Party.[12] Following his arrest, a group of 40 trade union leaders formed the Trade Union Committee to Defend Louis Weinstock to support his legal defense.[13] On February 3, 1953, he was found guilty of violating the Smith Act and sentenced to three years in prison.[14] While in prison, he became friends with fellow inmate Dashiell Hammett and he later attended Hammett's funeral in 1961.[15] In August 1959, Weinstock was subpoenaed to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee with 10 other teachers from the Faculty of Social Science, as part of the Committee's investigation into Communist teachers.[16]

Death

Weinstock died of heart failure in Redlands, California on November 26, 1994.[17]

References

  1. ↑ Garlin, Sender (March 1952). "Louis Weinstock: Not for Sale". Jewish Life. 6 (5): 14.
  2. ↑ Tomlins, Christopher L.; King, Andrew J., eds. (1992). Labor law in America : Historical and critical essays. The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 238. ISBN 0801843626.
  3. ↑ Lorence, James J. (1996). Organizing the unemployed : Community and union activists in the industrial heartland. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. p. 35. ISBN 0791429873.
  4. ↑ Folsom, Franklin (1991). Impatient armies of the poor : The story of collective action by the unemployed, 1808-1942. Niwot, CO: The University Press of Colorado. p. 343. ISBN 0870811843.
  5. ↑ Morris, George (25 July 1943). "Meet Louis Weinstock, Progressive Unionist". The Worker. New York. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  6. ↑ "Louis Weinstock Papers and Photographs". findingaids.library.nyu.edu. Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  7. ↑ One union : A history of the International Union of Painters & Allied Trades, 1887-2003. Aspatore Books. 2004. p. 129. ISBN 158762172X.
  8. ↑ "EXTRA! Rank & File Sweeps to Victory In Painters Election, Crushing Zausner". Sunday Worker. New York. 30 June 1940. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  9. ↑ Isserman, Maurice (1982). Which side were you on? : The American Communist Party during the Second World War. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press. p. 235. ISBN 0819550590.
  10. ↑ "Louis Weinstock, 91, A Top Communist And a Union Leader (Published 1994)". The New York Times. 1994-11-29. Retrieved 2025-09-23.
  11. ↑ Hodos, George H. (1987). Show trials : Stalinist purges in Eastern Europe, 1948-1954. New York: Praeger Publishers. p. 169. ISBN 0275927830.
  12. ↑ Lannon, Albert Vetere (1999). Second String Red : The Life of Al Lannon, American Communist. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. p. 126. ISBN 0739100025.
  13. ↑ "40 Unionists Form Weinstock Defense Body". The Daily Worker. July 31, 1951. p. 1.
  14. ↑ Ranzal, Edward (February 4, 1953). "13 Secondary Reds Get Their Wish; Jail Sentences Instead of Russia". The New York Times. p. 1.
  15. ↑ Bruccoli, Matthew J.; Layman, Richard, eds. (2002). Hardboiled mystery writers, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Ross Macdonald : A literary reference. New York: Carroll & Graf. p. 228. ISBN 0786710292.
  16. ↑ Light, Robert E. (August 3, 1959). "Un--Americans set stage for attacks on teachers". National Guardian. p. 1.
  17. ↑ "Louis Weinstock; Union, Communist Party Official". Los Angeles Times. 1994-11-30. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
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