Arnold Zander

{{Short description|American labor union leader}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Arnold Zander

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| birth_date = {{birth date|1901|11|26}}

| birth_place = Two Rivers, Wisconsin, U.S.

| death_date ={{death date and age|1975|07|21|1901|11|26}}

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|alma_mater = Labor union leader

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Arnold Scheuer Zander (November 26, 1901 – July 21, 1975) was an American labor union leader.

Born in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, Zander studied civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, then worked as a draftsman. Three years later, he returned to the university and completed a master's degree in town planning, followed by a PhD in public administration.{{cite news |title=Arnold S. Zander, labor chief, dies |work=New York Times |date=July 21, 1975}}{{cite book |last1=Schlager |first1=Neil |title=Encyclopedia of Labor History Worldwide |date=2003 |publisher=St. James Press |isbn=9781558625426 |page=30}}

Zander began working for the Wisconsin Civil Service Department as an examiner, then later became the state personnel administrator. In 1932, he was a founding member of the Wisconsin State Employees Association, becoming its secretary in 1934. In 1936, the union became the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and Zander was elected as its president.{{cite news |last1=Seaberry |first1=Jane |title=Arnold Zander, founder of union, dies |newspaper=Washington Post |date=July 20, 1975}}

The union grew rapidly under Zander's leadership, reaching 162,000 members by 1956. However, after that point, many union members felt that it made little further progress, and in 1964, Zander was defeated for re-election by Jerry Wurf, becoming honorary president. Soon after, he revealed that the union's international activities had been financed by the Central Intelligence Agency. He retired fully in 1966.

In 1966/67, Zander was president of the United World Federalists, in which role he argued for the creation of a world police force, to keep peace during the Vietnam War. In 1968, he moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, and taught at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay.