Andrew Furuseth
Andrew Furuseth (March 17, 1854 – January 22, 1938) of Åsbygda, Hedmark, Norway was a merchant seaman and an American labor leader. Furuseth was active in the formation of two influential maritime unions: the Sailors' Union of the Pacific and the International Seamen's Union, and served as the executive of both for decades.
Andrew Furuseth | |
|---|---|
Furuseth in 1928 | |
| 3rd & 5th President of the International Seamen's Union | |
| In office 1908–1937 | |
| Preceded by | William Penje |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| In office 1897–1899 | |
| Preceded by | T. J. Robertson |
| Succeeded by | William Penje |
| Secretary of the Sailors' Union of the Pacific | |
| In office 1892–1935 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Anders Andreassen Nilsen March 17, 1854 Romedal, Hedmark, Norway |
| Died | January 22, 1938 (aged 83) San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic Union Labor |
| Occupation | Merchant seaman and labor reformer |
| Nickname(s) | "St. Andrew" "The Abraham Lincoln of the Sea" "The Old Viking" "Andy" |
Furuseth was largely responsible for the passage of four reforms that changed the lives of American mariners. Two of them, the Maguire Act of 1895 and the White Act of 1898, ended corporal punishment and abolished imprisonment for deserting a vessel.
Furuseth was credited as the key figure behind drafting and enacting the Seamen's Act of 1915, hailed by many as "The Magna Carta of the Sea" and the Jones Act of 1920 which governs the workers' compensation rights of sailors and the use of foreign vessels in domestic trade. In his later years, he was known as "the Old Viking".
Furuseth was also a founding member of the xenophobic organization Asiatic Exclusion League in May 1905.