Introduction

The first act of William W. Winpisinger’s tenure as president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers set the stage for the next dozen years: he convened his initial staff meeting at a minute past midnight, just seconds after he took office on July 1, 1977. Winpisinger is a machinist: blunt, stubborn, self-educated and proud of his trade. As a spokesman for labor, Winpisinger has articulated the belief shared by millions of Americans that something has gone terribly wrong in our country. Winpisinger himself gives primacy of place to two achievements. The first was the acquisition and development of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’s education center at Placid Harbor, which is funded by interest earned on the union’s strike fund. The second he cites is “playing a role in the transformation of the AFL-CIO at the top level.”