Woodcock, Leonard (1911-2001), was an American labor leader and diplomat. He served as president of the United Automobile Workers (UAW), one of the largest labor unions in the United States, from 1970 to 1977. From 1979 to 1981, Woodcock was U.S. ambassador to China.
Woodcock was a Detroit factory worker before he became a union organizer of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in 1938. He joined the UAW staff in 1940. From 1947 to 1955, Woodcock held many leadership posts in the union. In 1955, he became a UAW vice president and the union’s chief negotiator with the General Motors Corporation. In the early 1970’s, Woodcock led a drive to establish national health insurance in the United States. He served on the U.S. Pay Board in 1971 and 1972. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Woodcock chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing, China. Woodcock was named ambassador to China in 1979, after the United States and China established full diplomatic ties. He was born on Feb. 11, 1911, in Providence, Rhode Island. He died on Jan. 16, 2001.
