2000 Union Hall of Honor
Webtrax Admin
John Brown Lennon
“A national officer of the early AFL, a Labor Party candidate, and skilled tailor.”
Lennon advanced the cause of workers through a number of offices which he occupied. A tailor by trade, Lennon joined the Journeyman Tailors Union in 1871 where he soon rose to a position of leadership. Lennon sought to promote the rights of all organized workers on a national level as AFL treasurer during 1890-1917. He worked to improve working conditions of the US Department of Labor during World War I.
Patrick H. Morrissey
“An immigrant’s son who rebuilt the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen after the Pullman Strike.”
Morrissey was instrumental in rejuvenating the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. In 1894 he became this union’s Grand Master, increased membership, financial standing, and stressed solidarity with other unions on a national scale.
Studs Terkel
Brought the voices of workers to the public through print, radio and television.
In his early career as an actor, Studs clearly knew he was a fellow worker. In fact, he was a charter member of the Radio Actors Union (AFRA), which subsequently became the American Federation of Radio and Television Actors-Screen Actors Guild (AFTRA-SAG).
The tools of his trade for the last fifty years have been the portable tape recorder and trusty microphone. Through his weekly radio program, PBS documentaries and best selling book WORKING, it has been his skill to evoke from his subjects their true feelings about their lives and the social realities in which they carry on.