Nat Ganley, or Nat Kaplan (born Nathan Kaplan; 1903–1969), was a socialist and later communist journalist who became a union organizer in the 1930s, particularly for the United Auto Workers of America. He was tried and convicted in 1954 for violating the Smith Act, but his conviction was later overturned.
Background
Nat Ganley was born Nathan Kaplan on November 26, 1903, in New York City. He finished eighth grade in public school. Around 1917, he joined the Socialist Party of America and then the Young Peoples Socialist League (YPSL).
Career
In 1919, Ganley became a communist and became national secretary for the Young Workers' League of America (YWL) (which became the Young Communist League USA). As national junior director of the YWL, Kaplan summarized the difference between his communist group and others by stating: "Let us remember that is it mainly on this point that we differ from the old form of child organization – the worker's Sunday schools. We are not only preparing the child for future participation in class struggle–we are leading the child in the class struggle now!"
In the early 1930s (or late 1920s), Kaplan joined the staff of the CPUSA's Daily Worker newspaper and also became a union organizer (particularly for the National Textile Workers Union (NTWU) for the CPUSA's New England district). On February 3, 1930, Kaplan spoke for the Daily Worker at a rally in New York City to protest war preparations by the government of Mexico against the USSR. On October 22, 1932, Kaplan was the main speaker at a torch parade for the Italian branch of the International Workers Order.
By June 1934, Nat Kaplan moved to Detroit, where he published articles in the Daily Worker. He organized for the Trade Union Unity League (TUUL) and American Federation of Labor (AFL) locals including the Poultry Workers Union, Packing House Workers, and Riggers Union. In Detroit, "Ganley helped organize one of the first UAW locals: the East Side Tool and Die Local 155 in Detroit in 1936." The United Auto Workers of America (UAW) was a member union of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) union federation. On February 6, 1935, he spoke at a rally to back Maurice Sugar, then a noted labor attorney, for the position of judge of the Recorder's Court. With Stanley Nowak and John Anderson, he helped organize Detroit's first sit-down strikes at Alcoa and Midland Steel Products.