The New York Times is reporting: Eric Schmertz Dies at 84; Settled Many Labor Disputes
Eric J. Schmertz, who as one of the nation’s most relied-upon labor peacemakers helped resolve thousands of labor disputes, getting both the Rockettes and New York City cab drivers to end strikes in the 1960s, died on Saturday at his home in Mount Kisco, N.Y. A former dean of the Hofstra University School of Law, he was 84.
Schmertz grew up in New Rochelle.
Eric Joseph Schmertz, the elder of two sons of Max and Hetty Schmertz, was born in the Bronx on Dec. 24, 1925, and grew up in New Rochelle, N.Y. His first ambition was to become a diplomat, though he might have been an infielder with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who offered him a contract after watching him play at New Rochelle High School.