Alexander J. Rohan

Alexander John Rohan (February 2, 1911[1] – December 30, 1985) was an American labor union leader.

Born in Haverstraw, New York, Rohan was educated in Yonkers, New York, and in 1932 began work at Turner Press, a commercial printing plant. That year, he joined the International Printing Pressmen and Assistants' Union of North America (IPPU).[2] He soon became a delegate to the city's Central Labor Council.[3]

Rohan moved to Washington D.C. in 1938, working full-time for the union after World War II. He represented the union in cases before the Wage Stabilization Board and the National Labor Relations Board.[3] He also spent time on secondment to the United States Department of State and the United States Department of Labor, during which time he was a special advisor to the Japanese labor movement.[4]

Rohan became a vice-president of the IPPU in 1953, and was then elected as secretary-treasurer in 1961.[2] In 1970, he was elected as the union's president, defeating Walter Turner.[5] The same year, he was elected as a vice-president of the AFL-CIO.[2] He negotiated a merger in 1973 which formed the International Printing and Graphic Communications Union, becoming the new union's founding president,[6] but retired from the union the following year.[4]

Rohan stood down from his AFL-CIO post in 1974. In retirement, he served on the Foreign Service Selection Board.[4]