William Z. Foster

William Z. Foster, born William Edward Foster, is a Socialist Party candidate for the 1932 United States Presidential election. An influential union boss and member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), Foster grew to fame as one of the leading figures of the Steel Strike of 1919 along with fellow John Fitzpatrick and Mother Jones. While Fitzpatrick was more popular as the powerful head of the Chicago Federation of Labor, his Irish birth meant he was ineligible for a Presidential run, and supported Foster to carry out the unionist ideals.

With the Communist Party's inability to win much of the vote, Foster resigned from his position as its first Chairman during the 1928 election, choosing to support the Socialist Party during their rising influence after the formation of the German Socialist Republic. Earl Browder came to succeed him as the Communist Party's new Chairman. Originally a candidate, he was turned down in favour of the more passionate democratic socialist Norman Thomas. Later down the line, Foster became a supporter of Joseph Stalin and his form of Communism, which put him largely at odds with fellow candidate Jay Lovestone.

In the 1932 Presidential election, Foster garnered the nickname 'the Staunch Union Boss' and became a symbol of unionised communism in the SPA. His views in support of Stalin put him at odds with much of the party, but with the economic depravity, Foster believes that radical alternatives must be taken in order for America to survive.