Remembering Legendary Troublemaker Jerry Tucker
We learned with sadness that Jerry Tucker died this morning. We will be posting a fuller remembrance in the coming days, but wanted to share the following video from the 2012 Labor Notes conference. Jerry received a Troublemaker's Award for his lifetime of rabble-rousing, and below is what we wrote in the program book to honor his many achievements, together with his video acceptance. Jerry Tucker's name is legendary, and on so many fronts. He led the successful effort to beat back a right-to-work referendum in Missouri in 1978, uniting unions and farm organizations. He reintroduced work-to-rule strategies to UAW plants, winning critical early fights against concessions (read about them in the Troublemaker's Handbook).
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As the concessions trend picked up steam, Jerry stood at the head of the New Directions Movement within the UAW in the 1980s, pledged to resist both givebacks and the "partnership" mentality. He dared to run for UAW regional director against the "jointness" candidate—and won, despite a slew of dirty tricks.
Jerry later turned to advising workers and unions in a host of industries. His tactics were adopted by the workers at the Staley plant in Decatur, Illinois, before and during their lockout, as detailed in the book Staley.
Jerry was on board at the founding of US Labor Against the War and the Labor Campaign for Single Payer, as well as the Center for Labor Renewal. Last year he helped train public employees in Wisconsin trying to reorganize in the aftermath of their uprising. He has spent his life fighting for workers and challenging the labor movement to stand up for its original mission of solidarity, democracy, and accountability.
