Howard D. Samuel, 78; Longtime Labor Leader Served Under Carter

Howard D. Samuel, 78, a longtime AFL-CIO official who served as deputy undersecretary of Labor for international affairs in the Carter administration, died Thursday of cancer at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

A native of New York City, Samuel served in the Army during World War II and graduated from Dartmouth College after the war. He began his career in the labor movement in 1949 as an organizer with the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. He became an international vice president of the union in 1966, conducting the union’s political and legislative affairs.

After two years of service in the Carter administration, Samuel became president of the AFL-CIO’s Industrial Union Department, made up of more than 50 national and international unions.

During that time, he was a founder of the Collective Bargaining Forum, a study group of company chief executives and union presidents.

The author of two books on government, as well as magazine articles, Samuels also testified before Congress and appeared frequently on television news programs. He retired in 1992.