(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - National AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond joined other Labor Leaders to pay tribute to the extraordinary life and career of long-time Labor, Civil and Human Rights Leader William “Bill” Lucy.

President Shuler and Secretary-Treasurer Redmond: “Our movement has lost an icon.  For more than six decades, Bill Lucy served as a brilliant strategist whose words instantly cut to the heart of an issue - a bridge across generations of our movement and a leader in connecting the fights of Working People all across the world.  At just 34 years old, he wrote four simple words – ‘I Am a Man’ - that would change the course of history in Memphis, Tennessee and helped all Americans see the humanity of Black Sanitation Workers in their struggle for dignity and respect on the job.  It was that same clarity and force that he brought to everything he did - from his historic leadership as Secretary-Treasurer of AFSCME (American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees) to his co-founding of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), to his groundbreaking work with Unions internationally, where he shaped policy not just for our Federation, but for our Labor Movement as a whole.  Bill’s brilliance was in realizing, far ahead of most, the extraordinary potential our movement has when we stand together in spite of our differences - no matter our background, race, age, gender or identity.  He understood that oppression anywhere can lead to oppression everywhere.  It is in that spirit that we will continue to lead and honor Bill every day as we fight for dignity and respect for Workers everywhere.”

American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) President Lee Saunders: “Bill Lucy was a giant, one of the most accomplished and influential Trade Unionists ever - in any country, at any moment in history.  He did as much as anyone to advance the dignity of all Working People here in the United States and around the world.  He was one of our greatest warriors ever for Civil Rights, Labor Rights and Human Rights.  From his leadership in the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike to the founding of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) to his role in defeating and dismantling South African apartheid, he was a courageous trailblazer.  On behalf of (1.4 million) AFSCME Members, I am so grateful for his visionary leadership from the moment he first joined our Union nearly seventy years ago.”

Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) President the Reverend Terry Melvin: “The CBTU Family mourns the passing of our last founding leader and President Emeritus William ‘Bill’ Lucy.  Bill was not only a giant amongst giants in the National and International Labor Movement, but he was also a strong and fierce Civil Rights Leader.  Bill was a supportive mentor to many within the U.S. and Global Labor, Social and Civil Rights Movements.  On a personal level, Bill was my ‘Father in the Movement,’ always supportive, corrective when needed and all done with love and care.  Known as the ‘conscience of the movement,’ Bill will be truly missed by all whose life he ever touched.”

William “Bill” Lucy, who served as Secretary-Treasurer of AFSCME for nearly four decades and was one of the most respected and revered Black Labor Leaders in the world, died at his home in Washington, D.C.  He was 90 years old.

Lucy was a heavyweight of the American Labor Movement in the second half of the 20th Century and a fierce defender of Civil and Human Rights.

In 1968, he traveled to his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee to help resolve the Sanitation Workers’ Strike, marching shoulder to shoulder with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as the Workers sought the City’s recognition of their Union, AFSCME Local 1733.

He was the Co-Founder and longtime leader of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) and a Co-Founder of the Free South Africa Movement (FSAM) that launched the successful anti-apartheid campaign in the United States.

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Photo Courtesy Of AFSCME/CSEA Via The Internet.