What’s Inside
Union leaders respond to friend of Labor Sen. Dick Durbin’s retirement announcement By ELIZABETH DONALD Illinois Correspondent
Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive set for May 10 Page 3
Union leaders honored U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin last week on the announcement of his retirement, though it signals a fight for the seat in 2026. Durbin, 80, has announced he will not pursue a sixth term as the elder senator for Illinois. Durbin is the longest serving popularly elected senator in Illinois history, and assuming he finishes his current term, he will also surpass the record from the appointed Sen. Shelby Morris Cullom who served
from 1883 to 1913, according to STLPR. “I truly love the job of being a United States senator,” Durbin said in a recorded announcement on his YouTube channel last week. “But in my heart, I know it’s time to pass the torch.” Durbin’s announcement heralds the end of a 44-year career in government, beginning with his first election to the U.S. House in 1982. Born in East St. Louis, Durbin has lived in Springfield, Ill. for the last 50 years, according to the Belleville News-Democrat. He was elected to
succeed the late Sen. Paul Simon in 1996, rising to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee and now serves as minority whip, making Durbin the second highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate.
FRIEND OF LABOR Durbin had long been considered a friend of Labor, even in a Laborpositive state like Illinois. Tim Drea, president of the Illinois AFL-CIO, said Durbin has been an advocate, friend and ally to working families. “His career is defined by standSee DURBIN page 15
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U.S. SENATOR DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.), the longest-serving popularly elected U.S.senator in Illinois history, announced his retirement last week, saying he will not seek re-election for a sixth term. – Manuel Martinez/WBEZ photo
Thursday, May 1-7, 2025
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Mayor Cara Spencer names two key Labor leaders to her transition team Page 4
St. Louis unions celebrate Workers’ Memorial Day with 45th annual Union Labor Mass By TIM ROWDEN Editor-in-Chief
Labor History
Page 10
IBEW Local 1 pickets new Southern Bus and Mobility facility in Valley Park Page 11
SMART demands return of illegally deported member Kilmar Abrego Garcia Page 12
St. Louis – A union member who died on the job last year was remembered at the 45th Annual Robert O. Kortkamp Union Labor Mass and Interfaith Prayer Service on April 27 at the Shrine of St. Joseph, the patron saint of the worker in downtown St. Louis. The annual mass and prayer service is held in observance of Workers Memorial Day, which honors and remembers workers killed on the job or from work-related injury and illness. Kevin Feldmann, a 40-year member of Sheet Metal Workers
Local 36, died two days after falling from a ladder at a McCarthy construction site on the Barnes-Jewish Hospital campus in the Central West FELDMANN End. The incident happened Oct. 25. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said Feldmann was working from a ladder when he fell 12 feet onto a concrete floor. He died two days later. Brother Feldmann was a proud member of Local 36 for over 40 years as an architectural journeyman
ST.LOUISUNIONMEMBERSremembered workers killed on the job or from workrelated injuries or illness at the 45th Annual Robert O. Kortkamp Union Labor Mass Sunday, April 27, at the Shrine of St. Joseph in downtown St. Louis. The Rev. Tommie Pierson, pastor of Greater St. Mark Family Church, led an interfaith prayer service for workers before the mass. – Labor Tribune photo
and foreman. “He was so proud to be a part of the Arch Redevelopment Project, Missouri Botanical Gardens new visitor center, Barnes Hospital, South East Missouri State College Dome reconstruction, and many others,” the family wrote in his obituary. “He was always so
proud to say he was a union man and loved his union brothers.” Brother Feldmann is survived by his wife Lisa; daughters Cassie and Crystal; son Tommy; his seven grandchildren, Andrew, Lyndon, Gino, LuElla, Enzo, Lawson and See LABOR MASS page 13
Painters District Council 58 lends helping hand to Wesley House Association By SHERI GASSAWAY Missouri Correspondent St. Louis – Dozens of volunteers turned out for the Painters District Council 58 Day of Action last week at the Wesley House Association in the city’s Penrose neighborhood. The April 25 event coincided with the IUPAT National Day of Action in which the union’s members give back to the communities in which they live and work. The Wesley House is a social service organization serving youth, adults and seniors in a neighborhood primarily populated by low-income, at-risk residents. District Council 58 Business
Periodicals Publication
Representative Otto Schoenberg said the goal of the event included adding 10 inches of mulch to the playground and repairing some playground equipment. Organizers had also planned to paint the exterior of the building and stripe the parking lot, but it rained the day of the event.
‘MAKE THINGS BETTER’
PAINTERS DISTRICT COUNCIL 58 members and contractors teamed up as part of an IUPAT National Day of Action in the community by lending a helping hand to the Wesley House Association, a social service organization serving youth, adults and seniors in a neighborhood primarily populated by low-income, at-risk residents. – Labor Tribune photo
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“One of our signatory contractors will come back out and stripe the parking lot,” Shoenberg said. “From I understand, Wesley House runs a food pantry, and they have to put cones out, and it’s a little bit chaotic. The striping will help out See PAINTERS DC 58 page 14
Members of the following unions and councils see page 5 for changes in your notices ILLINOIS
• IBEW 309 Retirees • Southwestern Illinois Central Labor Council
MISSOURI
• St. Louis Labor Council