The union last month lost a stanch labor pioneer with the passing of retired United Industrial Workers (UIW) National Director Steve Edney. Brother Edney died May 4 in California following a lengthy illness. He was 87.
“Our union and the labor movement as a whole has lost a truly devoted combatant who never backed down from a fight,” said SIU President Michael Sacco. “Steve selflessly and generously gave of himself so that things would get better for all of his union brothers and sisters.
“Through his efforts over the years,” Sacco continued, “thousands of workers on the West Coast and especially in the Terminal Island, Calif. area gained improved treatment in terms of working conditions, wages, and benefits. We all owe him a debt of gratitude and he will be sorely missed.”
John Spadaro, who in 2001 succeeded Edney as national director of the SIU-affiliated UIW, also remembered Edney as a labor stalwart. “I have only good things to say about Steve because he did it all for the UIW for such a long time,” Spadaro stated. “He made so many contributions to the UIW and the labor movement as a whole. We will miss him a great deal.”
UIW Wilmington, Calif. Representative Beatrice Ortegon described Edney as “a real peoples’ person … one who always put the needs of others ahead of his own. Steve was one of the finest and most honest people I have ever known,” Ortegon said. “He was very knowledgeable and well versed in all aspects of the labor movement and laborers’ rights … In so many ways, he taught me the real meaning of the word union.”
A native of Anderson, S.C., Edney became acquainted with organized labor during in the late 1940s after he migrated to the West Coast. His first job there was with Todd’s Shipyard in San Pedro, Calif. where he worked as a member of the shipbuilders union. Not long thereafter, Edney left the shipyard in the midst of massive layoffs to take a position in a canning plant, which then was represented by the Cannery Workers Union of the Pacific, an SIU affiliate.
Soon after coming aboard at the canning plant, Edney was elected shop steward. Then, he was voted in as chief shop steward. At this juncture, he became increasingly agitated by the quality-of-life issues affecting his fellow cannery workers—especially the absence of benefits. Workers had no health insurance or pension plan. Edney organized a shop stewards council. Among other functions, the council would address health insurance and pensions.
Edney approached union officials about these concerns and remained persistent until they were addressed and ultimately remedied. In the process, Edney became a union representative as well as president of the shop stewards council that he had earlier formed.
Over the years the Cannery Workers Union of the Pacific grew in numbers as well as strength, reaching its peak with more than 10,000 members. As the union grew, so did Edney’s role in it. He became a business representative, then vice president, and later president of the union.
In September 1970 Edney was elected a vice president of the California Federation of Labor. This marked the first time in the history of the 1.3-million member California AFL-CIO that a black person was elected into office.
Some 10 years later, Edney met with then SIU/UIW President Frank Drozak to discuss a merger of the Cannery Workers Union of the Pacific with the SIU/UIW. After their talks the merger was approved.
Edney was elected to the UIW national director post in 1981. He retired from that position in 2001 following more than a half century of dedicated service.
Funeral services were conducted for Edney May 12 in Culver City, Calif. He is survived by his wife Alberta; daughter, Lena; son, Henry and daughter-in-law, Barbara; two grandsons, Russell and Tyus Edney; three great grandchildren, Kennedi, Kolbi Rae and Tyus Dwayne Edney; a sister, Elizabeth Winkfield; and a host of other relatives and friends.
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