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Union Movement Mourns Jack Henning |
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The union movement is mourning the loss of longtime California labor leader Jack Henning, who died yesterday at age 93. Henning served as executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation for 26 years before his retirement in 1996.
Henning’s leadership produced some of the great milestones in California labor history. Almost immediately after his election to the top office of the state federation, he joined the struggles of the United Farm Workers, campaigning successfully for passage of the historic Agricultural Labor Relations Act in 1975.
Henning also led the campaign to restore Cal-OSHA in 1988, a year after it was abolished by then-Gov. George Deukmejian, and he spearheaded a successful drive to reform the state’s workers’ compensation system.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney praised Henning as “one of a kind,” saying he was:
a ferocious warrior for working people and an inspired leader with literally thousands of accomplishments for which we all owe him a tremendous debt.
Says California AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski, who succeeded Henning in that post:
Jack was a lion of a man and a great labor leader. His vision and his magnificent oratory inspired several generations of union activists.
His commitment to global unionism and anti-racism were ahead of his time, and he never hid from a good fight. He led the labor movement at times of great growth and opportunity, and through challenging times as well. There will be a silence where his voice once was heard, and he will be dearly missed.
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said American workers have lost a “tireless advocate,” and she lost “a dear a friend.”
For most of his life, Jack Henning was on the front lines of the labor movement, fighting for civil rights, equality and justice for working Americans. He was a man of modest means, with a thirst for knowledge and a tremendous sense of compassion for his fellow man. Jack Henning was a champion, visionary and unwavering voice on behalf of the working women and men of the United States and of the world. We are all indebted to his leadership, and he will be missed.
Henning began his career in the union movement in 1938 while working with the Association of Catholic Unionists in San Francisco. The same year, he joined the United Federal Workers of the CIO not long after graduation from St. Mary’s College.
Later, he was a member of the Boilermakers in San Francisco. In 1949, he became administrative assistant to the head of the California Labor Federation, AFL, and frequently represented the organization before state commissions and regulatory bodies.
Gov. Edmund Brown named Henning director of the state Department of Industrial Relations in 1959. Three years later, President John Kennedy appointed him as undersecretary of labor, a job he held until 1967 when President Lyndon Johnson named him U.S. ambassador to New Zealand. He was elected executive secretary-treasurer of the California state fed in 1970.
During his farewell speech at the California Labor Federation’s 1996 convention, Henning delivered a thundering defense of political liberalism, saying:
And if by a suspension of the laws of nature, I were young again, I would follow no other course, no other flag but the flag of labor.
Henning is survived by his seven children, 12 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. His wife, Betty, died in 1994.
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