The Quad-City Federation of Labor AFL-CIO is hosting its 33rd annual Hall of Fame Banquet at the Isle Casino Hotel in Bettendorf, Iowa.
This year, four area union members are honored for their dedication to their craft and for focusing on solidarity with other members and unions.
Quad City Federation of Labor AFL-CIO President Dan Gosa says nearly 100 members and a ten-member committee make annual recommendations.
"Each local union has the opportunity to recommend one of their members, retired members, to be considered for nomination," Gosa said in a phone interview with WVIK. "And then we have a committee that gets together and then reviews all the nomination paperwork and then kind of decides from there on the inductees for that year."
John Herrig is a retired machinist specialist who has held numerous positions within his International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) Local Lodge 51 District 6 and Iowa State Council of Machinists. According to his biography, which the QC Federation of Labor sent out, Herrig helped negotiate over 250 contracts with more than ninety employers.
"You learn that the most important part of labor relations is the relation part of it," Herrig said in a phone interview with WVIK "And that's something that you grow into with the job. And I think that overall, as my career went on, I think that I did a much better job having a working relationship with each of the shops, each of the management teams that I had contracts with."
Herrig says media coverage should explain the difference between unions wanting a pension and having a 401K contribution, as companies have been pushing employees to take retirement planning on themselves instead of the company over the last twenty years.
"...[T]hat that can be a big problem. You know, especially someone who's getting close to retirement, and all of a sudden the market has a turn, has a downturn," Herrig said. "And, know, the security that you would have under a true pension is quite a big safety net for that individual. You're not losing your 401k accounts. You know, you're guaranteed a certain benefit on the actual pension itself."
Herrig is bringing his family to the banquet, including his 97-year-old father, a retired union plumber with Plumbers and Steamfitters Local #66 in Dubuque, Iowa. He says he feels honored to be selected as one of the inductees.
Brinson Kinzer is a retired electrician at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW Local 145). His father and uncle were union members, and they instilled in him the power of standing up for yourself and helping others.
"My father and my family members taught me the value of a collective bargaining agreement," Kinzer said in a phone interview with WVIK. He says his brother, late brother-in-law, grandfather, and two cousins were ironworkers in West Virginia.
He still holds his Journeyman Class A Electrical License to teach younger electricians and is an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) outreach trainer. He encourages people to contact him whenever they feel unsafe on the job.
"The older I get, [the more] I worry about about these folks; this has become a fast-paced industry," Kinzer said. "I worry about the politics of safety. OSHA was created in 1970, and 1971 it went into effect. It's there, and I don't ever want to lose it. I tell everybody to embrace safety. Go home. Somebody home is waiting for you."
Kinzer's wife and son are union members, too.
Robert Buller worked with various unions in his career, ending with United Auto Workers Local 434. He says at the beginning of his workforce experience, he didn't work at a union, and the job respected his dignity, but once the owner died, things changed.
"So being treated unfairly in some respects forced me to leave my job," Buller said in a phone interview with WVIK. "And so I thought, boy, if I go to another job, I'd sure like to work in a union shop, you know, where I have a little bit more protection, I guess, for lack of a better word."
Buller is still involved in his union as the financial secretary for the retiree chapter of UAW Local 434. He will be attending the banquet with his wife, kids and grandkids.
Robert "Horse" Williams is a retired audio technical engineer and a part of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE Local 85).
According to the news release sent by the QC Federation of Labor, Williams volunteers for any and all IATSE Local 85 events. The AFL-CIO Hall of Fame banquet is not the first organization Williams has been inducted in. In 2015, Willaims was inducted at the Quad Cities Blues Hall of Fame, and in 2019, he was inducted at the Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. When people ask Williams what he does he replies, "I'm like the Wizard of Oz, pay no attention to me, the man behind the curtain." WVIK was unable to interview as Williams is recovering from an illness.
The hall of fame banquet also recognizes one union member with the John White Community Service Award. The award is given to union members who go above and beyond to help their union and also give, advocate, or volunteer with the United Way of the Quad Cities and other local non-profits. This year, it's Jeremy Hammer from UAW Local 281.
"So it's kind of been interesting from the standpoint that I knew I was going to get it this year because I was unable to accept it last year. But no, I was very excited," Hammer said in a phone interview with WVIK. "It's a great honor. It actually reminds me of one of my favorite Bob Hope quotes, and that is, I feel very humble, but I do think I have the strength of character to fight it."
Hammer says he's been 13 years sober, and part of his reason for staying clean is his mindset that everyone needs help from time to time. So Hammer has traveled to various picket lines to support unions.
"People have been through it before. It makes it a lot easier whenever you go to a picket line to be able to talk about other experiences," Hammer said. "Because a lot of times these people have never been on a picket line before. They don't know what's going on, what to expect. And they think that they're all alone out there on that ledge. And when you show up in someplace like Jackson, Mississippi, and you say, I'm from Davenport, Iowa, half of them are just like, where is that? And then the other half are just mesmerized that you even show up. To know that they have support from so far away, just the amount of positivity it brings to a picket line is amazing."
Hammer says the energy in the U.S. labor movement is amazing, as public support is over 70%. He believes an increase in support came from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as worsening conditions caused workers to retire early. As younger workers filled the positions, they saw room for improvement in wages as the cost of living made previous high-level positions' earnings worth less. Although support for unions are up, Hammer wants to note the unionization efforts of the past looked vastly different in America.
"I'm only 48 years old. I didn't see a lot of the fight where people were getting killed on picket lines or being beat by mob busters and union busters and all these people coming in. They went through some very violent times," Hammer said. "We've been lucky that we've been in a very peaceful time. So, a lot of people don't understand what the actual fight was to get to where we are. And sometimes I feel that people take it for granted. And just think that it's very important that you stand up and you collectively organize and stand together, because that's the only way that we're going to be able to move forward and not race towards the bottom."
The AFL-CIO Hall of Fame Banquet will start at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5th, at the Isle Casino Hotel in Bettendorf. It is expected to host 300-400 people. Two keynote speakers will address the celebration, Illinois 36th District State Senator Mike Halpin and Iowa 43rd District State Senator Zach Wahls.
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