{"id":2421,"date":"2007-10-24T07:58:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-24T13:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/sadness-and-gratitude-for-the-salt-of-the-earth\/"},"modified":"2009-08-22T14:10:33","modified_gmt":"2009-08-22T20:10:33","slug":"sadness-and-gratitude-for-the-salt-of-the-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/sadness-and-gratitude-for-the-salt-of-the-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"Sadness and gratitude for the salt of the earth"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Carter Bundy<\/span> <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

This past week was a tough one for the labor community in New Mexico<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>. Three of our best, most respected leaders passed, and no matter how active we are, they brought things to the table that simply can\u2019t be replaced.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Manny Herrera: the people\u2019s representative<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

State Rep. Manny Herrera<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Just last year, some of our members in Santa Fe<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> met with Rep. Herrera to seek his support for increasing the minimum wage and for the right of child care providers to form unions. The ask was superfluous, because we knew he\u2019d be there for us.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Even though the ask wasn\u2019t needed, all of us were glad to visit with him. He told us stories of how the labor movement in Silver<\/st1:placename> City<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place>, including his family, had won basic rights for the people who, even though their work generated billions in wealth for the mining companies, were barely subsisting.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t 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 Western<\/st1:placename> New Mexico<\/st1:placename> University<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> put up resistance at every turn, workers asked Rep. Herrera to stand with them. He never once hesitated.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

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 Grant<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Joe Villalobos: preserving labor\u2019s legacy<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Another long-time Silver<\/st1:placename> City<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> labor leader also passed last weekend: United Steelworkers Local 890 President Joe Villalobos. If you\u2019ve heard of Local 890 before, it\u2019s for a reason: That\u2019s the local that struck the Empire Zinc mines, a strike made world-famous by the equally impactful movie \u201cSalt of the Earth.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Joe led his local through tough times of multinational corporate dominance, unfair trade practices and a dearth of true political allies.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

It\u2019s in the hard times that you find out who your friends are, and the mine workers in New Mexico<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>, when the times were toughest, had no better friend and advocate than Joe Villalobos. Through his efforts, the proud legacy of labor in the union capital of the Southwest is still alive.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Jon Thomas-Weger: leader by example<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Jon was a good personal friend to many of us in Albuquerque<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>. After being a letter carrier for 35 years, he had recently retired but continued working on labor issues, helping hospital workers fight against unfair discipline and for a good contract. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A longtime political activist and president of the Central New Mexico Central Labor Council<\/a>, 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 Central<\/st1:placename> Labor<\/st1:placename> Council-endorsed<\/st1:placename> Albuquerque<\/st1:placename> City<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> Council candidates Rey Gardu\u00f1o<\/a> and Debbie O\u2019Malley<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a quote from Che Guevara<\/a> that appears in the program for a tribute to Jon coming up this weekend. It reads: \u201cAbove 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the kind of guy Jon was: always thinking about others and how to alleviate their suffering. It\u2019s something to which we should all aspire, and something Jon lived every day. If you\u2019d like information about the tribute to him on Saturday night in Albuquerque<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, shoot me an e-mail.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Gratitude for the giants<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A few years ago, AFSCME Local 3973 President Joe Chavez made a shirt with the following quotation: \u201cNacimos entre la sal de la tierra, peliando la causa que no muera.\u201d Translated, it reads, \u201cBorn from the salt of the earth, fighting the cause that doesn\u2019t die.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Even people not in unions should be grateful for the efforts of these three giants of New Mexico<\/st1:state><\/st1:place> labor. For everyone in unions, though, the gratitude is as enormous as the hurt of the losses.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In three days, three irreplaceable leaders of the cause of social justice in New Mexico<\/st1:state><\/st1:place> just died. Because of their work, their cause won\u2019t.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Bundy is the political and legislative director for AFSCME<\/a> in New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>. The opinions in his column are personal and do not necessarily reflect any official AFSCME position. You can learn more about him by clicking here<\/a>. Contact him at carterbundy@yahoo.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Carter Bundy This past week was a tough one for the labor community in New Mexico. Three of our best, most respected leaders passed, and no matter how active we are, they brought things to the table that simply can\u2019t be replaced. Manny Herrera: the people\u2019s representative State Rep. Manny Herrera, from Bayard, lost […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bundy-columns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2421\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}