Whiting Williams

Whiting Williams (March 11, 1878 – April 14, 1975) was co-founder of the Welfare Federation of Cleveland, a predecessor to the Community Chest and United Way charitable organizations, as well as an author of popular books and articles about labor relations during the early 20th century.

He disguised himself as a laborer in coal mines, railroad shops, shipyards, and oil refineries in the United States, Europe, and Central and South America.

He held this job until 1904, when he wrote a letter to the President of Oberlin College, Henry C. King, during his trip to Europe.

[2] Amidst the transitions he underwent in terms of his career, Williams grew concerned that his name was too popular, fearing that people might not be able to distinguish him among so many others.

[2] Speaking multiple languages, French, German, Spanish, and Italian, enabled Williams to work as laborer in coal mines, railroad shops, shipyards, and oil refineries in the U.S., Europe, and Central and South America.

Based on his research, he gave lectures and wrote several books such as; What's on the Worker's Mind (1920),[4] Full Up and Fed Up (1921), Horny Hands and Hampered Elbows (1922), and Mainsprings of Men (1925).

Based on his work as a common laborer in the steel mills and in a rolling mill, as a coal miner in two towns, as a shipbuilder, as an oil man in a refinery, and as a worker in the iron mines, Williams wrote a 1920 book entitled "What's on the Worker's Mind, subtitled By One Who Put On Overalls To Find Out.

[5] He claimed that his research "cheated no employer" [5] as he worked tirelessly in order to derive the ruptured relations between "Labor, Management, and the Public -- the investors in brawn, brains, and bullion, and the bourgeoisie".

[7] Surprisingly, Williams did not offer conclusions or prescriptions but pointed out the most prominent concern among workers: terrible foremen.

[7] Williams transformed his approach in 1931 from working for a single company or client to sending reports on labor conditions to a number of industrialists as a mass news service.

Williams argued for an increased emphasis on individualism and consistently and vigorously opposed the New Deal and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in the following years.