Miller, James (trade unionist)
Dates
- Existence: 1904 - 1976
Biography
James Miller (1904-1976) was born in Motherwell and began work at the age of 14 at the Ironworks Department of the David Colville Steel Plant. He emigrated to Buffalo, New York in 1929 and soon found employment with the Bliss and Laughlin Cold Drawn Steel Company. Miller showed early sympathy with the local labour movement, despite his own workplace not yet being unionised. This did not happen until 1939. Miller thereafter became a member of the Steel Workers' Union and rose to chief steward. He later moved his members to the CIO, where he became Chairman of the Grievance Committee and the Bargaining Committee and a delegate to the Greater Buffalo Industrial Union Council. He moved to the General Motors Corporation in 1942 and served as steward on various committees and as a delegate to the CIO Council. He was elected President of the Council in 1943. He continued to represent trade union interests throughout his career, acting as an adviser at both local and national level. In his final years he served as a Senior Field Representative for the Division of Human Rights of the State of New York between 1966-1976.