George Meany, 85, gruff, cigar-puffing chieftain of U.S. labor who rose from Bronx plumber to president of the AFL-CIO from its birth, in 1955, to 1979. Whether battling for fuller union lunch pails, assailing Communism, or dismissing critics who accused him of being too conservative, Meany lectured Presidents and public alike with equal bluntness.