F. J. Patrick McCartney was a steamfitter who joined UAW in 1935 when it was part of the American Federation of Labor; served as a trouble shooter during the AFL presidency of William Green and worked on special assignments for George Meany. In World War II, McCartney took a leave of absence from the AFL-CIO to accept and appointment by Franklin Delano Roosevelt as full-time labor advisor of the National Staff of the Office of Civilian Defense, Washington, D.C. In 1943 he joined the Field Artillery division of the Army and served as a physical training instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. After the war he rejoined the AFL staff and helped establish the Missouri Valley Development Trades and Labor Council. In February of 1958 George Meany appointed him to manage a trusteeship over the Michigan Federation of Labor. In 1962, Meany appointed him director of AFL-CIO Region 10.