Unemployment: Its Cause and Cure. An Enquiry Authorised by the General Federation of Trade Unions.

First edition of the 1928 report on unemployment issued by the General Federation of Trade Unions. From the library of John Philip Frey with his ownership stamp to the front free endpaper. John Philip Frey was a labor activist and president of the American Federation of Labor’s Metal Trades Department during a crucial period in American labor history. In 1918, Frey became chairman of the National Bureau of Economic Research, helping to raise money and incorporate the organization in 1920. He remained chairman of the board of directors until 1927. During the presidency of AFL president William Green, Frey was one of the most influential men in the American labor movement. Frey, long with Matthew Woll, president of the International Photo-Engravers Union of North America, worked behind the scenes of the AFL executive council to craft AFL policies and positions, heavily influencing the passive Green. Green’s rabid anti-Communism, his apolitical views, his refusal to consider governmental action as relief for working people’s problems, and unwavering support for craft unionism all came from Frey and Woll. In near fine condition.