Name Henry Melnikow Role Professor | Died May 15, 1963 | |
Henry P. Melnikow was a Russian immigrant who became an economic consultant to unions involved in labor, and represented numerous labor unions in finding compromises between unions and workers. He was a professor at the University of California in which he instructed extension courses for workers in industry. He was the Director of the National Labor Bureau and dedicated close to fifty years of his life to the service of organized labor in California and protecting and promoting the rights of workers. In his later life he gave speeches at many UC schools supporting workers rights.
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Background
Henry P. Melnikow was born in 1892 in Kiev, Russia, where his father was a shopkeeper. In 1905 Henry moved to the United States with his family, where he was educated at Milwaukee Normal School. He attended the University of Wisconsin from 1912-1916 and then the University of California from 1921-1923. He became a teacher and a lawyer and resided in San Francisco for the majority of his life. Melnikow spent most of his life fighting for workers rights, and died May 15, 1963 at the age of 71.
Significant contributions and legacy
Henry Melnikow was the director of the National Labor Bureau in San Francisco where he fought and argued for labor rights in California. Some of his more significant contributions to the labor struggle included; being involved in hearings on the proposed shipping code under the National Recovery Administration and he was involved and had influence over both the waterfront and general strikes He argued for the longshoremen and seamen before the National Longshoremen's Board from 1934-1935, and submitted a case for the San Francisco Typographical University arguing, "that wages must increase if workers are to share in increase of productivity and industry resulting from improvement in Machinery and technique." He died while working on a way to solve a similar problem of quality of employment and job rearrangement that was caused by new automation and improvements to technology. Melnikow is remembered for his significant contribution to labor programs and it was said in the UCLA Newsletter that his contributions to this area are, "Historic importance to the field of labor relations." He is remembered for his enthusiasm and energy to helping improve the working conditions many working men and women throughout California and the United States.