By Carter Bundy
This past week was a tough one for the labor community in
Manny Herrera: the people’s representative
State Rep. Manny Herrera, from Bayard, lost his battle with cancer. He was a rock-solid representative from salt-of-the-earth country, and made us all proud to be associated with labor.
Just last year, some of our members in
Even though the ask wasn’t needed, all of us were glad to visit with him. He told us stories of how the labor movement in
He didn’t just fight for workers at the Roundhouse; in the busy interim period he always found time to support workers fighting for something as simple as the right to even have a union. When
On top of that, he and his wonderful wife, Kathleen, always took the opportunity to break bread with their sisters and brothers in labor. They attended Christmas parties and local meetings, and always showed an interest not only in the broad issues, but in the personal lives of workers in
In an era where big corporate dollars have a disproportionate influence on many politicians, Rep. Herrera was a guy who always remembered what it meant to represent the people.
Joe Villalobos: preserving labor’s legacy
Another long-time
Joe led his local through tough times of multinational corporate dominance, unfair trade practices and a dearth of true political allies.
It’s in the hard times that you find out who your friends are, and the mine workers in
Jon Thomas-Weger: leader by example
Jon was a good personal friend to many of us in
A longtime political activist and president of the Central New Mexico Central Labor Council, Jon did more than anyone else to unite different unions around pro-worker candidates. This year, for example, Jon worked days for hospital workers and evenings and weekends for
There’s a quote from Che Guevara that appears in the program for a tribute to Jon coming up this weekend. It reads: “Above everything, those who have the capacity to feel at its deepest level any injustice committed against anyone in any part of the world, that is the most beautiful quality of a revolutionary.”
Unlike Che, Jon was non-violent in his revolution, and always calm. While many of us around him were excited or agitated about politics, he was a quiet leader who made things happen.
One of my last conversations with him was about his vegetarianism. He felt incredibly strongly about cruelty to animals in most meat-producing facilities. His personal story of commitment to ending animal cruelty was so heartfelt that it moved at least a few of us to look into cruelty-free foods.
That’s the kind of guy Jon was: always thinking about others and how to alleviate their suffering. It’s something to which we should all aspire, and something Jon lived every day. If you’d like information about the tribute to him on Saturday night in
Gratitude for the giants
A few years ago, AFSCME Local 3973 President Joe Chavez made a shirt with the following quotation: “Nacimos entre la sal de la tierra, peliando la causa que no muera.” Translated, it reads, “Born from the salt of the earth, fighting the cause that doesn’t die.”
Even people not in unions should be grateful for the efforts of these three giants of
In three days, three irreplaceable leaders of the cause of social justice in
Bundy is the political and legislative director for AFSCME in