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The NAACP Salute to Labor
Sojourner’s Truth Staff
The NAACP Toledo Branch
honored six local labor leaders during a breakfast on
Thursday, May 19 at Local 12 headquarters on Ashland Avenue.
The six honorees were
Toledo Fire Department Deputy Chief Bryan Byrd; Kevin
Dalton, president of Toledo Federation of Teachers; David
Fleetwood, business manager for Laborers Local 500; Ken
Lortz, UAW Regional 2B director; Toledo Police Department
Sgt. Anita Madison and longtime UAW leader George Tucker.
“We’re in the business for
people,” said Tucker in accepting his award. “We will fight
for every job we can get. We have to fight every day – they
are not going to give us anything.”
On the dais for the NAACP
and leading the breakfast program were Ray Wood, president
and Micheal Alexander, vice president. The breakfast buffet
was catered by James McDay of We Are Ribs.
The morning event opened
with a rendition of the National Anthem by Darius Coleman.
Coleman, who graduated from Central State University this
spring, will be headed to Europe this summer on a tour to
promote his recently released CD.
Coleman also sang one of
his original songs, “Running to the Finish Line,” that he
composed during his college years.
The keynote address was
delivered by honoree Madison, who is about to retire from TD
after 22 years of service. A long-time union member, from a
union family, Madison asked her audience if those in labor
are continuing to share the rich history of the movement
with younger generations.
“We salute you,” she told
the union members present, “but we challenge you.”
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