Executive Council Statement
On the Passing of John Sweeney
… faith, and not a day passed by when he didn’t put the needs of working people first. Sweeney was one of four children born to Irish immigrants in a working-class Bronx neighborhood shortly after the Great Depression. His parents, James and Agnes Sweeney, worked as a bus driver and a domestic worker, respectively. Sweeney often spoke about his father’s loyalty to his union, the Transport Workers Union (TWU), with a sense of what it did for his family. Solid meals. A week of vacation. … electing pro-worker champions and fighting for union-friendly policies at all levels of government. Sweeney inspired hard work and loyalty by working harder and longer than anybody and never giving up on people or goals. He kept the optimism and …