Ever since Leon Lynch went to
work at the Youngstown Sheet & Tube mill in East Chicago, Ind., and
joined United Steelworkers Local 1011 more than a half-century ago,
the USW has been at the center of his life.
He soon became a union
activist, serving on several of the local's committees and as
president of the credit union. In 1968, he launched a full-time
career with the union that would last for nearly four decades. His
first position was as a staff representative, and he was promoted to
international representative after five years.
Lynch then was sent to
work with Local 7655, which represented employees of the Carrier air
conditioner plant in Memphis. Although the wounds following the
assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in that city were still
raw, Lynch quickly became known as a leader who could conciliate
black and white workers. When the local built its first union hall,
its members put a sign in front that read, "Leon Lynch Union Hall."
That sign is there today.
At its 1976 convention,
the Steelworkers created the position of Vice President for Human
Affairs. Lynch was appointed to that position and subsequently was
elected and re-elected for six terms until he retired from the union
in 2006. He oversaw the union's civil rights and human rights
efforts, and he chaired two vital sections of the union: the
Steelworkers' Container Industry Conference, where he was in charge
of contract negotiations, and the Public Employees Conference.
Lynch has won wide respect
as a bridge between the union movement and the civil rights
community. He was national chairman of the A. Philip Randolph
Institute, an executive committee member of the Leadership
Conference on Civil Rights and a leader in the U.S. struggle against
South African apartheid. At his request, his friend Coretta Scott
King persuaded her father-in-law, Martin Luther King Sr., to speak
to an organizing rally at Newport News, Va. It filled a stadium.
Since Lynch was elected to
the AFL-CIO Executive Council in 1995, it has benefited greatly from
his vast experience and judgment. He has been an influential member
of such committees as Civil and Human Rights, Immigration,
Legislative/Public Policy and Safety and Occupational Health.
Shortly before Lynch
retired from the Steelworkers, U.S. Rep. Peter Visclosky declared in
the House that Lynch "has taught every member of the USWA the true
meaning of service." We would amend that to include the entire union
movement. Now that he is retiring from the Executive Council, we
congratulate him, we thank him for his great contribution to our
movement and we wish him all the best in his retirement.
