In Memoriam: Stu Smith

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
Longtime AFSCME activist Stu Smith passed away Wednesday night, reports AFSCME Council 26 Executive Director Carl Goldman. Smith, President of AFSCME Local 2830 – which represents workers at the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs – “was a role-model, advisor and mentor for many of us,” said Goldman. “He was always ready to help his co-workers and other federal employees, as well as employees in divisions of the Justice Department not covered by his bargaining unit. Many of those employees went on to organize Council 26 locals in their divisions, and, of course, Stu was there to help them organize.” Smith, whose labor activism started in the 1960’s when he was an active member of the Newspaper Guild at the Baltimore Sun, was active in Council 26 for almost three decades, serving many terms as Council President. “Council 26’s many organizing successes in the 1990’s and beyond were due in large part to Stu’s vision, which was grounded in organizing,” said Goldman. “But he wasn’t just a visionary, he was an activist who helped in many of our organizing drives.”