Arthur J. Goldberg

The son of immigrants, Arthur J. Goldberg (Aug. 8, 1908-Jan. 19, 1990) supervised an espionage group during World War II. He served as general counsel for the United Steelworkers of America and was the chief legal counsel for the AFL-CIO merger in 1955. As secretary of labor, from January 21, 1961 and September 20, 1962, he mentored a young Daniel Patrick Moynihan, advocates for civil rights and raises the minimum wage. Believing that government has a responsibility to help solve labor disputes that threaten the economy, he successfully intervened in a 1962 steelworkers strike. Later, as a Supreme Court justice, he bring the “silent” Ninth Amendment back into relevance and argued against the constitutionality of corporal punishment. He reluctantly resigned from the Supreme Court in 1965 to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

His successor was W. Willard Wirtz .

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Labour Department and Ministry.