Ever since Leon Lynch went to work at the Youngstown Sheet & Tube mill in East Chicago, Ind., and joined United Steelworkers Local 1011 more than a half-century ago, the USW has been at the center of his life.
He soon became a union activist, serving on several of the local's committees and as president of the credit union. In 1968, he launched a full-time career with the union that would last for nearly four decades. His first position was as a staff representative, and he was promoted to international representative after five years.
Lynch then was sent to work with Local 7655, which represented employees of the Carrier air conditioner plant in Memphis. Although the wounds following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in that city were still raw, Lynch quickly became known as a leader who could conciliate black and white workers. When the local built its first union hall, its members put a sign in front that read, "Leon Lynch Union Hall." That sign is there today.
At its 1976 convention, the Steelworkers created the position of Vice President for Human Affairs. Lynch was appointed to that position and subsequently was elected and re-elected for six terms until he retired from the union in 2006. He oversaw the union's civil rights and human rights efforts, and he chaired two vital sections of the union: the Steelworkers' Container Industry Conference, where he was in charge of contract negotiations, and the Public Employees Conference.
Lynch has won wide respect as a bridge between the union movement and the civil rights community. He was national chairman of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, an executive committee member of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and a leader in the U.S. struggle against South African apartheid. At his request, his friend Coretta Scott King persuaded her father-in-law, Martin Luther King Sr., to speak to an organizing rally at Newport News, Va. It filled a stadium.
Since Lynch was elected to the AFL-CIO Executive Council in 1995, it has benefited greatly from his vast experience and judgment. He has been an influential member of such committees as Civil and Human Rights, Immigration, Legislative/Public Policy and Safety and Occupational Health.
Shortly before Lynch retired from the Steelworkers, U.S. Rep. Peter Visclosky declared in the House that Lynch "has taught every member of the USWA the true meaning of service." We would amend that to include the entire union movement. Now that he is retiring from the Executive Council, we congratulate him, we thank him for his great contribution to our movement and we wish him all the best in his retirement.