Union Movement Mourns Former AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer

July 21, 2009

The AFL-CIO Now blog reflects on the passing of Joe Ames, AFSCME's former secretary-treasurer.

Joseph L. Ames, 83, former AFSCME secretary-treasurer, died June 17, the union reported last week. Ames served in the post from 1968 to 1972. Prior to that, Ames was secretary-treasurer at AFSCME Local 410 in St. Louis and served as president of the Missouri AFL-CIO.

AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee praised Ames and said Ames was

a man whose vision of fairness and justice in the workplace extended beyond his own union to the everyday men and women who work hard to live the American dream. Joe helped build AFSCME into the union it is today, and we will always be grateful for his dedication.

Ames also served on AFSCME’s executive board, chaired the commission that rewrote AFSCME’s constitution (adopted in 1965) and helped establish the guidelines and precedents for the union’s Judicial Panel, which he also chaired. The panel decides challenges concerning the eligibility of nominees for office and other matters.

The Washington Post said Ames—who lost a leg in combat during World War II—became a “a civil rights activist” when he returned to St. Louis after the war. He also served one term in the Missouri House of Representatives.

Ames also was close friends with the “Labor’s Troubadour” the late Joe Glazer. He co-wrote several songs on Glazer’s 1984 album “Jelly Bean Blues.”

His survivors include his wife of 56 years, Lillian, and three children. Memorial donations may be made to The Southern Poverty Law Center, the Georgetown University School of Medicine or a charity of choice.

Read more about Ames at AFSCME.org here and here.