For Immediate Release
Wednesday, June 19, 1996
AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy Says Union Has Grown in Size, Strength and Vision
Chicago, IL —William Lucy, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), today told some 4,000 delegates of the AFSCME convention that the union has grown in size and strength over the last two years, saying, "our growth and expansion is due to the dedicated foot soldiers who carried the battle flag of this union into every organizing war, wherever it occurred."
Lucy said that growth is what allows AFSCME -- one of the fastest-growing unions of the AFL-CIO -- to lead the fight "in making life a little better for every public employee and worker within our jurisdiction across this land."
Lucy, who is also the founding president of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists and president of Public Services International -- the world's largest union federation -- pointed out that AFSCME has a long history of leading the fight in the advancement civil rights and social responsibility.
As a life-long civil rights activist, Lucy worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the struggle for civil rights, and led labor's delegation to South Africa during the election of Nelson Mandela.
"AFSCME has carried the legacy of bold leadership for sixty years -- sixty years of knocking down doors and keeping dreams alive, sixty years of being impolite to arrogant power and being impatient with slow change."
"The labor movement must lead the effort to close the prosperity gap in this country," Lucy continued. "We know we need fair wages and safe pensions, but we also need liveable houses and liveable cities, good streets and safe drinking water, a society where every man, woman and child has a fair shot at building a better life."
Lucy said that AFSCME has always been willing to "comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable. I am personally proud that this principle is a guiding tenet in AFSCME."
"We are headed straight into the 21st Century," he told the delegates, "and you are part of this historical journey."
