William Z. Foster, born on this day in 1881, was a radical American labor organizer and Marxist politician whose career included serving as General Secretary of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) from 1945 to 1957. He was previously a member of the Socialist Party of America (SPA) and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), although he was critical of the former for not working with already existing unions.

Foster was a key figure in the drive to organize the packinghouse industry during World War I and in instigating the Steel Strike of 1919. He was the more radical, pro-Soviet political rival of CPUSA leader Earl Browder, who was a supporter of the Roosevelt administration.

Foster was also a prolific political writer, and his work “Towards Soviet America” has been continuously republished by both leftists and anti-communists who see it as scandalous. Foster described the book as a “plain statement of Communist policy, avoiding technical complexities and theoretical elaboration…Its central purpose is to explain to the oppressed and exploited masses of workers and poor farmers how, under the leadership of the Communist party, they can best protect themselves now…”.

The American Party of Labor claims descent from Foster and his secretary and aide, Jack Shulman.

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