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The Western Kentucky Worker | |
Official newsletter of the Western Kentucky Area
Council, AFL-CIO
Prepared by Berry Craig, KEA-NEA and AFT Local 6038
Volume 9, Number 1, January 2008
Union brothers
Jim Crouch, right, a Calvert City Machinist, visits with J.R. Gray at the Labor Day picnic in Paducah . Gray, Kentucky's new commissioner of labor, was directing business representative for IAM District Lodge 154 in Calvert City for 19 years and served in the Kentucky House of Representatives for 26 years.
J.R. Gray saw 'a deep, dark cloud' lift over Frankfort
BENTON , Ky. -- J.R. Gray, Kentucky 's new commissioner of labor, says he wants to make the Labor-Management Conference "bigger and better than ever" and boost morale in the Department of Labor.
"There is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that Gov. [Ernie] Fletcher wanted to destroy the Labor-Management Conference that we have at Kentucky Dam every year," Gray said. He added that after Fletcher issued an executive order to downgrade the Labor Cabinet to the Labor Department, employees "felt like the unwanted child at the family picnic."
Gray, from Benton, the Marshall County seat, is expected to be elevated to labor secretary next spring when the new governor, Democrat Steve Beshear, restores the state labor cabinet by executive order. Beshear, who enjoyed strong union support, beat Fletcher, a Republican, in a landslide on Nov. 6.
"It's my goal that [labor department employees].will again be able to be proud to go to work. I want to make the Department of Labor, eventually the Labor Cabinet, the most admirable division in state government," Gray said.
Beshear's new labor chief spent 26 years championing labor's cause in the state House of Representatives. A Democrat, Gray chaired the Labor and Industry Committee for most of his tenure in Frankfort .
Gray represented the Sixth House District, which includes Marshall and Lyon counties and a small part of McCracken County in western Kentucky . He had to resign to become labor commissioner.
"I want to express my heartfelt appreciation for all of the support that I have had from the various labor organizations throughout the Sixth House District and statewide," he said. "I also want to express my deep appreciation to the voters in the district for all the confidence they have shown in me all those years.
"Number one, I hope that the people could have said on Wednesday, December the twelfth of '07 - the day my resignation took effect - 'Well, J.R. was no different on his last day than he was on the first day he entered the General Assembly in early January of 1976.'"
Gray was elected to the House in 1975. He served from 1976 to 1989, when he lost in the Democratic primary. He won his seat back in 1994 and returned to the General Assembly in 1995. A former Machinists union official, Gray was one of labor's most faithful allies in the legislature. Unions considered Fletcher one of the most anti-union governors in Bluegrass State history.
In 2006, Fletcher pushed the legislature to pass a right-to-work law and to repeal the state prevailing wage law on public construction projects. Gray led the fight against the governor's proposals, both of which failed.
"I had mixed emotions about leaving the General Assembly because I had fought many, many battles and had won most of them," Gray said.
He said his sweetest victories were stopping Fletcher on right-to-work and the prevailing wage. "Having that under my belt, and having chaired the Labor and Industry Committee for the overwhelming majority of my 26 years in Frankfort , it was a difficult decision to leave.
"But when Gov. Beshear asked me if I would consider [becoming labor commissioner].and helping him straighten out [the labor].department, then I felt an obligation to respond favorably to him."
Labor had responded favorably to the Beshear campaign. The Kentucky State AFL-CIO and other Kentucky unions endorsed the Democrat.
Union members worked hard for Beshear. Union voters went for Beshear over Fletcher 77 to 21 percent, based on the state AFL-CIO's independent election-night poll.
In a Labor Day speech in Paducah , Beshear promised to bring back the Labor Cabinet and name "a card-carrying union member" as labor secretary. He repeated the pledge at labor rallies.
Gray expects to become labor secretary after the 2008 General Assembly adjourns. "I think that the governor wants to get the legislative session out of the way first," he added.
Meanwhile, Gray said the governor expects him "to more or less function just like I was a secretary of a cabinet."
While he was a lawmaker, Gray never missed a Labor-Management Conference, an annual gathering at Kentucky Dam Village State Park , on Kentucky Lake in Marshall County . The conferences are held a week after Labor Day.
Gov. Julian Carroll, a Democrat, started the three-day meetings in 1977. The idea was to promote better labor-management relations by providing a relaxed setting where union and company officials could get together socially.
The conferences are co-sponsored by the Department of Labor and the Cabinet for Economic Development.
In 2006, Fletcher tried to get the Labor-Management Conference shifted to a privately-owned hotel in Covington. The governor also wanted the meeting time reset to two weeks before election day. Unions and some business leaders protested the move. In the end, the conference stayed in September at the state park.
"We will try our best to keep it at Kentucky Dam Village from here on out," Gray said. "I pledge that with the help of [Marshall County] Judge-Executive Mike Miller and other supporters, we're going to try to make this year's Labor-Management Conference bigger and better than ever."
Gray plans to be the first labor secretary to attend the conference since Joe Norsworthy, who held the post under Gov. Paul Patton. Gray said he didn't seek to follow Norsworthy, a Marshall County native and Gray's longtime friend. "I am extremely pleased with having been offered the position of commissioner of labor," Gray said. "It came as quite a surprise to me because it was not something I was asking for or had been pursuing."
Gray said unknown to him, several state labor leaders -- "[State AFL-CIO President] Bill Londrigan, Steve Earle [an international representative for the United Mine Workers] and a raft of others -- had been urging Beshear to name him labor commissioner.
Gray still has a Machinists' card in his wallet. From 1967 to 1986, he was directing business representative for Machinists District Lodge 154 in Calvert City , not far from where he lives.
Though Gray has vacated his House seat, he is not giving up his house. He said he and his wife, Yvonne, plan to keep their Benton home and find "some place we can get through the week with" in the state capital.
Gray said he won't be an office-bound commissioner or secretary. "I will spend a significant amount of time on the road because I think that this governor wants his inner circle of people, so to speak, to be out there meeting with residents of the state and listening to their ideas and concerns and in turn bringing those ideas and their concerns back to him."
The commissioner is shuttling between Benton and Frankfort . But he stopped at the Greater Louisville Building and Construction Trades Council Christmas party.
He told the union members and their families that he was happy to be representing Gov. Beshear and Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo who were busy in Frankfort . Gray said that he saw "a deep, dark cloud" descend over the capital when Fletcher was elected in November, 2003. He said he glad to see it disappear at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 11, 2007 , when Beshear was officially sworn in as
governor.
"It was a thrill to be there," Gray said. "Inside every dark cloud, there is a silver lining and Gov. Beshear and Lt. Gov. Mongiardo are indeed the silver lining that finally shone through."
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Jeff Wiggins, left, and Frances Willey, celebrate at the 2007 Labor Day picnic
2008 Labor Day program may be cut to just Labor Day
The Western Kentucky Labor Day Committee Inc. is expected to vote this month on trimming the Labor Day weekend program to just Labor Day.
“We're thinking about it,” said Jeff Wiggins, committee president. “The committee is getting older and three days is getting to be too much.”
The non-profit committee resurrected the city's traditional Labor Day parades in 1975 and added another two days of festivities that include food, entertainment and a flea market.
“I'm 47 and I'm the youngest one on the committee,” said Wiggins, who is also the Area Council president. “We need help. We need some new blood.”
The Western Kentucky Labor Day Committee works year round to raise money from unions and other sources to host the Labor Day program. "We don't get any money from the city or state," Willey said.
The city's first Labor Day parades date to the 1890s. The processions lasted until after World War II when they stopped for reasons not clear.
The city's old Central Labor Union, the ancestor of the Area Council, sponsored the first Labor Day parades in Paducah .
The Labor Day Committee receives no government funds. It relies heavily on donations from unions, businesses and interested individuals.
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It's time to retire McConnell and the ‘anti-labor secretary of labor'
Watkins greets Steve Beshear at the 2007 Labor Day picnic in Paducah. |
Area Council President Jeff Wiggins says “it's time to go after the big fish in Kentucky . “We helped elect a governor in '07. Now we've got to help defeat Mitch McConnell. We've got a lot of work to do.” Unions consider McConnell one of the most anti-union U.S. senators. “We've also got to elect a president who will get rid of his wife,” Wiggins said. He meant Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. “She's the anti-labor secretary of labor,” Wiggins said.Wiggins said Kentucky will again be part of a national AFL-CIO campaign to elect labor-friendly candidates at the national, state and local levels. “We've got some important races here in the city of Paducah . “This mayor has got to go. We've also got to get some more people on the city commission who will help us. We've got to get three solid people on the commission and a new mayor.” Wiggins warned that the council will be “very, very careful about who we endorse. Before we endorse anybody, we are going to sit down with the Firefighters and with AFSCME. Since they are the ones taking a helluva beating from the mayor and his supporters, they will have a big say in who we endorse.” Wiggins praised Commissioner Gerald Watkins, who is seeking reelection. “He has consistently stood with the Firefighters and with AFSCME,” he said. “He also stood up for the police officers who are trying to do their job under a chief who is a dictator.” |
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Will Coursey will seek council support for his candidacy
Will Coursey will make his first visit to the Area Council as a political candidate on Jan. 3.
“It won't be my last visit – not by a long shot,” promised Coursey. "I won't be a stranger."
Coursey is the Democratic candidate in the Feb. 5 special election to fill the unexpired term of State Rep. J.R. Gray, Kentucky 's newly-named commissioner of labor.
“I will come to the January council meeting to ask the delegates to recommend me for endorsement to the state AFL-CIO,” said Coursey, a Benton banker. “I know I've got some awfully big shoes to fill because J.R. Gray was labor's strongest supporter in Frankfort . But give me a chance, and I will be just as strong on labor issues as he was.”
Coursey, 29, lives in Elva in Marshall County . He said he grew up in a union family.
"I understand union issues. I will never support the so-called right-to-work. I am for the prevailing wage and I am for collective bargaining rights for public employees. I will work hard to gain the trust that unions put in J.R. Gray when he was in the General Assembly."
Gray recently resigned his Sixth District House seat to become state labor commissioner. A Benton Democrat, he spent 26 years in the legislature.
State law requires a special election to fill out the unexpired term of a lawmaker. So far, Coursey has no Republican opposition.
Even if the GOP fails to field a candidate against him in the special election, Coursey acknowledged that he could face Democratic opposition in the May primary. But he doesn't expect an intraparty rival.
"I think that it's important to note that all three executive committees voted unanimously for my candidacy and that we will be pushing forward in solidarity through May and on to November," he said.
At the same time, the Republicans could have a candidate for the November general election, he added. Hence, Coursey said he is taking nothing for granted. “I plan to work hard to gain the confidence of the people of our district that J.R. had and deservedly so.
“For over a quarter of a century, he was a true champion of the working men and women not only in the Sixth District but across the state. I think he will make a fantastic labor commissioner and labor secretary, and I commend Gov. [Steve] Beshear for appointing him.”
Gray is expected to become labor secretary in April when Beshear restores the Labor Cabinet by executive order.
Gray has deep union roots. He was directing business representative for IAM District Lodge 154 in Calvert City for 19 years.
“I am also a product of union wages,” Coursey said. “My mother, Lisa McIntyre, is a member of Steelworkers Local 1-102-A at Alucobond in Benton . My father, Larry Coursey, who has passed away, was a member of Operating Engineers Local 181. My grandfather, Randall Coursey, was business agent for Local 181.”
Coursey's grandson was House Speaker Jody Richards' executive officer before he returned to his native Marshall County and went to work at the Community Financial Services Bank in Benton, the county seat.
Coursey is a lending officer. He said he also handles public relations for the bank.
“I think I will bring youth, experience and enthusiasm to the office of state representative,” he said. “I have also been told by the House leadership that when I am elected I will also be given significant rank on the House Labor and Industry Committee, which J.R. ably chaired for most of his time in Frankfort .”
Gray represented Marshall, Lyon and a small part of McCracken counties. “I look forward to serving the people like J.R. did so well for so long,” Coursey said.
Coursey said that although this is his first campaign for public office, he has been a political campaigner since his early teens.
He worked for Mike Miller's reelection as Marshall County Judge-Executive. He was also on Brian Roy's staff when the former Marshall County sheriff ran for Congress in 2000.
Eight years before, Coursey, age 14, waged a one-man campaign for President Bill Clinton in Benton. “Every day after school, I'd walk to the court square with a Clinton-Gore sign and chant ‘Clinton-Gore!' as cars passed.”
Democratic Executive Committees from Marshall, Lyon and McCracken counties met in December and chose Coursey as their candidate. “I am grateful for the faith they showed in me,” he said. “I am also thankful for the support of Speaker Richards and Jennifer Moore, our new party chair, who grew up in Lone Oak."
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