In Memory of Our Co-Worker, Jay Power

Jay Power

Just about everyone in the union movement knows the old song, “Which Side Are You On?” And for 26 years, workers in every corner of America knew they had Jay Power on their side. The senior lobbyist at the AFL-CIO, Power died Oct. 10. He had colon cancer.

Lots of Capitol Hill lobbyists are merely hired guns. Not Jay Power. He believed in the union movement with his heart and soul. No one had a greater passion for protecting workers’ interests. For a full generation, he was the lobbyist for every worker who needs safety and health protections in America’s workplaces, and for every construction worker who depends on Davis-Bacon guarantees to receive a decent wage and for every underpaid worker who needs an increase in the minimum wage.

The factory worker in Wisconsin who gets notice and compensation when her plant closes, the federal workers in Alabama who finally enjoys the basic right to get involved in politics and express their opinion, the energy industry worker in Washington State compensated for exposure to toxic substances—all are better off because of Jay Power.

He was a fighter, but he also was one of the most compassionate and generous and funniest people in the union movement. After learning of Power’s death, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) said:

Everyone who knew Jay knew he was an Irish storyteller at heart. They say that continual cheerfulness is a sign of wisdom. Jay had both in abundance, and he’ll be deeply missed.

Power’s survivors include his wife of 25 years, Joyce, and his daughter, Bevin. On the Saturday before he died, one of Power’s fondest dreams came true. He walked down the aisle with his daughter, giving her away at her wedding.

He won some remarkable victories in Congress, but he learned early that few of them were ever final. In one year, Power defeated a right-wing attempt to gut federal safety and health protections, and the next year, he’d be back to fight the very same battle all over again. It never fazed him. He relished the combat.

Power, whose father was president of a plasters and masons union, was among the most tenacious lobbyists in the history of Congress. He never let the corporate lobbyists and extremist conservatives get him down, and toward the last, he certainly wasn’t going to let cancer slow him. Even while in considerable pain, Power worked late into the night on Capitol Hill to lobby for an asbestos compensation bill that gave workers a fair break.

Over the years, whenever working people lost a battle in Congress, Power would tell his friends:

Look, don’t forget we’re fighting the good fight. We’re on the side of the angels.

The angels are the lucky ones now. They have one of the nation’s best lobbyists on their side. Heaven better watch out.

…………………

A wake will be held Thurs., 1-3 p.m., and 6-8 p.m. at the DeVol Funeral Home, 2222 Wisconsin Ave., 202-333-6680, www.devolfuneralhome.com. The funeral is scheduled for Friday at 11:30, at Mt. Olivet Methodist Church, 1500 N. Glebe Rd., Arlington, Va. There will be an Irish Wake following the services.

Please send condolences, flowers and donations to the Devol Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, Jay’s wishes were that all donations be sent, in the name of Jay Power, to:

Lombardi Cancer Center
3800 Reservoir Road, NW 2nd Floor, Podium C
Washington, DC 20007
Attn: Lorraine White

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