William Z. Foster

William Edward Foster (February 25, 1881 - September 1, 1961), who renamed himself as William Z. Foster, born in Taunton, Massachusetts, was the long-time General Secretary of the Communist Party USA and trade union leader. In many ways a syndicalist at heart, he passed through the Socialist Party of America and the Industrial Workers of the World, as well as leading the drive to organize the packinghouse industry during World War I and leading the steel strike of 1919 before joining the Communist Party in 1921. While he continued to focus on the Party's work within organized labor, he largely subordinated his own political views to the policies declared by the Comintern throughout his years in and out of leadership of the Party.

Further reading

• Barrett, James R., William Z. Foster and the Tragedy of American Radicalism, University of Illinois Press, 1999. ISBN 0252020464.
• Johanningsmeier, Edward P., Forging American Communism: The Life of William Z. Foster Princeton University Press, 1994 ISBN 0691033315.