Co-founding officer of the Coalition of Labor Union Women and president of the United Public Workers Local 246. General manager for GM at Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 434.
Human rights activist and member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) National Advisory Council. Organizer of the Daniel Ellsberg Pentagon Papers defense team and president of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners.
Union organizer and president of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE) Local 1414. President of the California Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and member of the Communist Party.
U.S. senator from 1943 to 1955 and 38th district California State Assembly member from 1936 to 1942. Head of the California Senate Factfinding Subcommittee on Un-American Activities ("Tenney Committee") and leader of anti-communist investigations.