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 6, Number 5, May, 2005

Lewis Hicks 'represents what W.C. Young stood for'

By BERRY CRAIG

KEA-NEA/AFT-Kentucky

Lewis Hicks spent less time at the microphone than anybody who came to praise him.

"I accept this award with pride and a promise that I will continue to work for working people as long as there is breath in this old body," said Hicks, a veteran union activist and recipient of the 2005 W.C. Young Award, the highest honor given by the Area Council.

Hicks, a member of PACE Local 5-680, is the council's COPE director and a council trustee. He is on the state AFL-CIO Executive Board. He is also mayor of La Center, his Ballard County hometown.

Politicians, union leaders, a pair of judges and a childhood buddy saluted Hicks, who has served Local 5-680 as president, vice president, recording secretary, trustee and chief steward. The honoree earned multiple standing ovations at the recent annual award dinner.

About 60 people attended the program, which was held at the PACE 5-550 union hall. "If they hadn't called my name, I wouldn't have known who they were talking about," Hicks joshed. "But no doubt I am among friends."

Hicks works in the Lubrication Department at the MeadeWestvaco paper mill in Wickliffe. He thanked the council for the award, which is named for the late W.C. Young, a national labor and civil rights leader from Paducah. Young received the first W.C. Young Award in 1994.

"I also give special thanks to my wife and family for giving me the time to do what I love," Hicks said. "I haven't had to sleep on the couch."

Hicks is the third member of Local 5-680 to receive the Young Award. The others are Ken Tyler of Arlington and Wayne "Windy" Wallace of Paducah, both retired.

Young was named director of COPE Region 10 before he retired. He died in 1996 at age 77.

His widow, Carol Young, is always an honored guest at the award dinners. "You could not have picked a better person for the W.C. Young Award this year," she said of Hicks. "He represents what W.C. Young stood for. When you work for the rights of union men and women, you work for the rights of all working men and women."

Hicks went home with an armload of other honors. McCracken County Commissioner Bob Grimm of Paducah presented Hicks with the fiscal court's Alben Barkley Distinguished Citizen Award.

George Wiggins, a retired Paducah firefighter, gave Hicks a jacket from AIM-UNITE! Chapter 22, a union group, many of whose members are retirees. "This is the only mayor I know who I can truly say is my friend," said Wiggins.

Tyler handed Hicks a gold watch from PACE International. "Lewis and I spent many a night and thousands of miles on the road together," Tyler said. Under Lewis' direction our local has prospered for many years, and I appreciate him for that."

State AFL-CIO President Bill Londrigan of Louisville called Hicks "a great union member and a great union leader. Great union members and great union leaders go to work and do their jobs; they become leaders in their communities; they run for public office; they participate in their churches and their AFL-CIO central labor councils."

Larry Jaggers of Elizabethtown, state AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer, said that when he met Hicks, he "decided right away that Lewis was a man I wanted on my side and a man I wanted to call my friend. There is no better ambassador for labor than Lewis Hicks."

Paducah City Commissioner Robert Coleman gave the keynote speech. He congratulated Hicks on behalf of Mayor Bill Paxton and the city government.

A retired post office letter carrier, Coleman said a union card has been in his wallet for almost 50 years. Young, he added, was his cousin "and the person who brought me into the labor movement."

Coleman talked about labor's past and future, explaining that a century ago, unions had to fight hard for recognition against anti-labor "Robber Barons," such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. "Some chapters in labor history are actually written in blood.”

He said the labor movement was "the greatest contributing factor" in the creation of a large middle class in America. The middle class is shrinking because of the globalization of the economy and free trade agreements, Coleman added.

"What does all this mean? I doubt you have on a piece of clothing made in America. There is not a single television made in America any more.

"I had a problem with a credit card and called about it. The person I talked to was in India, where she is making a third of the wages of an American worker.

"We used to be the king. We used to make the goods. Now our factories are shut down. USEC is closing. The [Continental-General] tire plant in Mayfield is gone. Seven-hundred-forty good jobs were lost and the [laid off] workers are having difficulty getting what the company promised them."

He said as the country shifts from an industrial to a "knowledge-based" and service economy, unions "must speak in a voice that says we are trying to improve the quality of life of all American citizens. The byword in labor used to be 'organize, organize, organize.' It takes more than that now. [Low-wage workers in the retail trade]...have been brainwashed into thinking they don't need to be in a union.

"At the same time, a few people are making millions -- stealing millions....We don't want to create any more robber barons. We don't want to lose the middle class."

Other speakers included Jeff Wiggins, Area Council president. A Steelworker from Reidland, Wiggins said Hicks is a union leader "who stands strong and steady." He asked the crowd "to stand with me and show your love for Lewis Hicks because he has stood strong and steady for us."

State Reps. J.R. Gray, D-Benton, and Fred Nesler, D-Mayfield, saluted Young and Hicks for their service to the labor movement. Gray, a former Machinists' union official, is another W.C. Young Award recipient.

"I deeply appreciate what you have done for the working people of this state and for me when I am in Frankfort trying to make sure bad things don't happen to working people," Gray said to the honoree. He added, "I know of no one who has had more devotion to working people than Lewis Hicks."

Bob Buchanan, Ballard County judge-executive, said Hicks has "done a great job on behalf of our county, our court and our country." Ronald Smith of Bardwell, a former PACE Local 5-680 vice president, thanked Hicks "for everything you have done for our local. We are grateful to have three [Young Award] winners."

Gordon Nall, Hicks' longtime friend, drove from Jackson, Mo., to be part of the tribute. "We first met in 1956 at Bandana Grade School," he said.

Sandra Wilson represented MeadeWestvaco, where Hicks has earned a paycheck for many years. "Lewis is a very dedicated union member who goes about his work in a very quiet way,” she said. “But when he talks, people listen."

Court of Appeals Judge Rick Johnson of Symsonia also commended Young and Hicks. He called Young "one of the greatest individuals I have ever had the privilege of knowing."

Benny Adair, Council vice president, was emcee. A Machinist from Benton, he presented Hicks the W.C. Young Award, a shiny wood and metal plaque honoring him "for his support and dedication to the working men and women of Western Kentucky.”

Wiggins thanked PACE Local 5-550 for the free loan of their union hall

His parents -- George and Martha Wiggins -- and other members of Chapter 22 cooked the meal and registered guests .

Return to Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council Home Page

Labor Day donations outpacing last year's total so far

Around $15,000 has been collected for this year's Labor Day program.

"We're running about $2,000 ahead of this time last year, and we are very pleased," said Frances Willey, treasurer of the Western Kentucky Labor Day Committee, the all-volunteer group that puts on the city's annual holiday weekend program.

Willey said the committee could still use help. "Volunteers are always welcome," she said. "We meet the fourth Tuesday of every month at the Area Council Hall."

In other Labor Day program news, Willey said the city has approved a permit for the flea market, picnic, music and other activities to be at the riverfront. This year's parade will head down Broadway from 17th Street toward the river.

In the past, parades have gone up Broadway to 17th Street. The rest of the program was at Carson Park.

"Usually, we have political speaking after the parade," said Jeff Wiggins, Area Council president and Labor Day Committee president. "But since this isn't an election year, we won't have candidates speak this time."

The program will start on Saturday with the traditional flea market and food and drink vendors and will continue on Sunday. The parade starts at 10 a.m. Labor Day and will be followed by a free afternoon concert.

Last year's Labor Day parade may have been the longest ever. "We hope we can top it this year," Wiggins said. "But Frances is right. We can't do it without help, financial and physical.

"We're glad to have donations of money. But we also need people who are willing to work. Everybody is welcome at our monthly meetings."

Return to Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council Home Page

Got news? Email it to Berry Craig at bcraig8960@charter.net or Jeff Wiggins at JLWiggins2@Juno.com.