FRED SCHMIDT

A man who has always stood by his beliefs in unions. Fred Schmidt represented the Texas CIO in carrying out its merger with the Texas AFL in 1957. 

Yet that historical highlight does not begin to tell all of Brother Schmidt’s influence on the labor movement. He started as a CIO organizer in 1940 after joining the TWUA while working at a cotton mill. 

Working his way into the CIO leadership, Schmidt promoted bold steps that stand out today as profiles in courage. He joined U.S. House Speaker Sam Rayburn and U.S. Senator Lyndon Johnson in the 1956 retaking of the Texas Democratic Party from a “Democrats of Eisenhower” organization led by Governor Allen Shivers. 

He also was instrumental in making human rights and the inclusion of minorities a major component of the labor agenda in Texas, long before such views became popular. 

In 1961, Schmidt left the Texas labor movement to carve out a successful career working on legislation as an academic and writer. For more than 55 years, Schmidt’s voice of courage and reason has helped move unions in a progressive direction.