Merlin D. Bishop was born 5 October 1907, in Alhambra, Illinois. Bishop worked at the Ford Motor Company between 1925 and 1931. He then attended Wayne University (Detroit, MI) and in 1935-1936, was a member of the Extension Staff of Brookwood Labor College. He was later involved with the United Auto Workers of America, the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and the Connecticut Governor's Fact-Finding Commission on Education.