Patrick J. O’ Malley retired president of the Cleveland AFL-CIO Federation of Labour, at one time was the most powerful labour leader in the city. He rose through the ranks to become regional director of the United Auto Workers, a post he held for 19 years until his retirement in 1968.
Mr O’ Malley of Fairview Park was admitted to Lakewood Hospital on Sunday with congestive heart failure and died there yesterday. He was 80 years of age. He was a farm boy, born in County Mayo, Ireland, who first saw trade unionism at work when he was a coalminer in England at the age of 17. Four years later he immigrated to Cleveland where his three sisters had preceded him.
Mr. O’Malley brought with him a brogue and a feisty temperament. Both diminished somewhat through the years. His style as a labour leader was marked by fairness and a give and take. If his temper flared, he was quick to make amends, a long time colleague said. He became a naturalized citizen Jan. 22nd 1932. He had been a member of the Irish Republican Army, fighting the English but did not like to talk about those early days.
His first job here was in the mailing room of The Plain Dealer. He told a reporter about being fired from that job, and three other jobs soon thereafter because of his quick temper. In 1928 he got a job with White Motor Co. as an inventory clerk and timekeeper. When the old CIO union organized there five years later, he was one of the first to sign up. That was the start of his long career in Labour. The union at White became local 32 of the UAW and Mr.O’Malley eventually held every office. He was Cleveland Federation of Labour president from 1958 –1968 on a part time basis. At his retirement as regional director of the UAW in 1968 he became the federation’s full time president.
Ironically, 1968 was the year the UAW withdrew from the national AFL-CIO and Mr O’Malley became a member of the International Association of Machinists to keep his eligibility for the top job, which he held through the early 1970’s. He had also been vice president of the Ohio AFL-CIO.
In his early days in Cleveland he played soccer for Celtics and marched in the back of St. Patrick’s Day parades, playing the bagpipes in a marching band. In 1959 he was grand marshal of the parade.
In 1964 he received the Civic Award from the Greater Cleveland Knight’s of Columbus and in 1968 was named Irish Good Fellow by the Irish Good fellowship Club. He had been on the boards of many civic and welfare groups and in 1970 was appointed foreman of the September term of the county grand jury. In 1967 he received the distinguished service award from the United Appeal of Greater Cleveland. After his retirement he served five years on the Fairview Park board of zoning appeals.
His wife of 53 years, Mary died in 1981. He is survived by daughters Patricia Ratty and Nancy Mc Namara, 10 grand- children and three great grand- children and three sisters, Mary Annie and Betty.
Service will be at 10 a.m. at St.Angela’Merici Catholic Church, 20970 Lorain Rd. Fairview Park.
Skip to content
