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With no clear successor, the ISFL Executive Committee approached the 42-year-old Soderstrom, hoping his political acumen could help stabilize the crisis. He accepted, and was named interim president, pending a formal vote.<ref>Soderstrom, Reuben. [http://www.reubengsoderstromfoundation.com/downloads/Reuben_Interview.pdf Interview by Milton Derber]. Transcript, May 23, 1958. University of Illinois Archives. p. 17.</ref> Soderstrom acted decisively against the PMA (despite his friendship with Walker), refusing to seat them at the 1930 ISFL Convention. The move marginalized the PMA and helped stabilize the UMWA at a critical moment.<ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=Labor Convention Bars Insurgent Miner Delegates|last=|first=|date=September 16, 1930|work=Alton Evening Telegraph|access-date=}}</ref> Soderstrom was formally elected ISFL President soon thereafter.
=== The Great Depression ===
Just as the miners’ crisis began to abate, a larger threat emerged: The Great Depression. By 1933, one out of every four laborers were idle.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Great Depression of the 1930s: Lessons for Today|last=Crafts|first=Nicholas|last2=Fearon|first2=Peterr|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2013|isbn=|___location=Oxford|pages=75, 330}}</ref> Reuben combated the crisis with a mix of legislation, agitation, and recruitment. He fought for relief legislation, including unemployment insurance and a shorter work week, declaring every laborer had a “right to work which must not be taken away.”<ref>{{Cite book|title=Proceedings of the 1936 Illinois State Federation of Labor Convention|last=|first=|publisher=Illinois State Federation of Labor|year=1936|isbn=|___location=Chicago, IL|pages=22}}</ref> He strengthened union efforts on the ground, coordinating action with other state labor leaders and bodies (most notably [[John Fitzpatrick (unionist)|John Fitzpatrick's]] [[Chicago Federation of Labor|Chicago Federation]]) and traveling across Illinois to give support to strikes and organizing efforts.<ref>Soderstrom, Reuben Soderstrom. [http://www.reubengsoderstromfoundation.com/downloads/Reuben_Interview.pdf Interview by Milton Derber]. Transcript, May 23, 1958, University of Illinois Archives. p. 34.</ref> He also ran a relentless recruitment campaign, focusing not only on unorganized workers, but on established unions not previously affiliated with the ISFL.<ref>Soderstrom, Reuben. “Essay: The Federation Is Growing,” August 1952. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.</ref> As a result, Soderstrom saw his membership surge despite the Great Depression and the formation of the Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO), a rival organization to Reuben’s American Federation of Labor (AFL).<ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=Illinois Labor Federation Head Defends His Work|last=|first=|date=August 7, 1941|work=Freeport Journal-Standard|access-date=}}</ref>
=== World War II ===
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