Biography/History

Few students of John R. Commons contributed so much to public service as did William M. Leiserson, and none became better known in the field of labor relations. Born in Estonia in 1883, William Leiserson migrated to New York with his family at the age of seven; and there in an immigrant neighborhood, he attended school as he could, worked in a shirt factory, became a bookkeeper's assistant, and studied at night.

At the age of twenty-one he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, where he received a degree in economics in 1908. While doing graduate work at Columbia University he served on the staff of the New York Commission on Employer's Liability and Unemployment. His Ph.D. thesis (1911) became the basis for the New York Employment Service System.

Returning to Wisconsin as deputy industrial commissioner, he established Wisconsin's public employment bureau and gained a reputation for his ability to adjust industrial disputes. A chronology of his major positions after he left Wisconsin serves as a guide to his half-century of contributions:

1914-1915	Assistant director of research, U.S. Commission on Industrial Relations
1915-1918	Professor of political science, Toledo University
1918-1919	Chief, Division of Labor Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
1919-1926	Impartial chairman and arbitrator, men's clothing industry in Rochester, New York, Baltimore, Chicago; faculty, Toledo University
1926-1933	Professor of economics, Antioch College; advisory council, Ohio State Employment Service; chairman, Ohio Unemployment Commission, 1931-1932
1933	Executive secretary, National Labor Board (NLB) under N.R.A.
1934	Chairman Petroleum Labor Policy Board; member Technical Board for Economic Security
1934-1939	Chairman, National Mediation Board (NMB); member National Railway Mediation Board and Railroad Retirement Board
1939-1943	Member, National Labor Relations Board; faculty, American University
1943-1944	Chairman, National Mediation Board; chairman, National Railway Labor Panel
1944-1947	Professor of economics, Johns Hopkins University, and director of study on the government of American labor organizations
1947-1957	Consultant and arbitrator; member President's Commission on Migratory Labor; president, Industrial Relations Research Association

Throughout his career he served on civic and government committees, gave speeches, and wrote numerous articles. His publications include Unemployment in the State of New York 1911; Adjusting Immigrant and Industry, 1924; Right and Wrong in Labor Relations, 1938; and American Trade Union Democracy, 1959, published posthumously by his son, Avery, with the help of another son, Mark, and Frank M. Kleiler.

In 1912, Dr. Leiserson was married to Emily Nash Bodman. Of their seven children (5 boys and 2 girls), one son was killed in a plane accident while in service, and the others became or married professional people. Each carries on the family tradition of continuing interest in economic and human relations. Mr. Leiserson died in Washington, D.C. in 1957. (Further biographical details may be found in Box 51.)