Biography
John Vernon Riffe was a coal miner and labor organizer who became a field director for the Steel Workers Organizing Committee. Chicago police arrested him during the breakup of picketing on the first day of the Republic Steel walkout in South Chicago on May 26, 1937. The charges were unlawful assembly and disorderly conduct. Judge Borreli imposed a $1 fine without court costs. Riffe later testified before the Senate’s La Follette Civil Liberties Committee about police violence during the strike. He became the final executive vice president of the CIO before its merger with the AFL.
