Lynn Russell Williams, OC (born July 21, 1924) is a former American (Canadian-born) labour leader that became a U.S.W.A. member in 1947 while employed by John Inglis Co. Local 2900 in Toronto Ontario and rose through the ranks to become International President of the United Steelworkers (USW) from 1983 to 1994. He was the first Canadian to lead the international trade union; headquarters in Pittsburgh PA.
In 1956, Lynn joined the Steelworkers staff and worked in Regina, Saskatchewan, the Niagara Peninsula and Toronto. In 1973 Williams was elected District Director of USW District 6 (Ontario) at that time in Canada, where he became close friends with George Becker. He was elected secretary of the Steelworkers international union in 1977. He assumed the presidency after the unexpected death of USW President Lloyd McBride in 1983. He ran for office in his own right in 1985 and won. As well, Lynn was the first person to have served, although not simultaneously, on both the Executive of the Canadian Labour Congress (C.L.C.) and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (A.F.L. - C.I.O.)
During the early 1990s, he represented organized labour on the Competitiveness Policy Council where he advanced many proposals to promote better training and trade policies. Williams retired at the end of his term in 1994 and moved back home to Toronto Ontario Canada, where on May 7, 2007 a Toronto street has been dedicated and named in his honour. Lynn Williams has never forgotten his roots, and continues to remain active in the union as the national president of the Steelworkers’ Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR), advancing causes related to social and labour related causes to this day.
Lynn Williams was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada in 2005.
Williams appeared on Milton Friedman's "Free to Choose" in the episode, "Who Protects the Worker?"
| Preceded by Lloyd McBride |
President, United Steelworkers 1983 - 1994 |
Succeeded by George Becker |