Joseph Arthur Padway

Who was Joseph Arthur Padway?

Joseph Arthur Padway was a U.S. labor lawyer and politician. Padway, who was born in Leeds, England, went to Milwaukee in 1905. Admitted to the Wisconsin bar in 1912, he was appointed legal counsel for the Wisconsin State Federation of Labor three years later. He married Lydia Paetow on March 9, 1912.

He was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate on the Socialist Party of America ticket and served in the 1925 session of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Padway was twice appointed to the Milwaukee civil court bench. After 1927 he was associated with the Progressive Republicans in Wisconsin.

Padway played a major role in shaping Wisconsin labor legislature between 1915 and 1935. Upon his appointment as the first general counsel of the American Federation of Labor, he moved to Washington where he served until his death. In this capacity, he successfully defended the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Act before the United States Supreme Court. He died in San Francisco, California.