Robinson, Randall, 1941-

AFSCME Office of the Secretary-Treasurer: William Lucy Records

jruss — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:21:25 -0400

The AFSCME Office of the Secretary-Treasurer oversees the general financial health of the international union, keeping records for its locals, councils, and the headquarters staff. The Office keeps files on council and local trusteeships, maintains per capita dues payments by locals and councils, issues charters to new locals, and suspends and disbands locals or councils when problems arise. William Lucy held this position for 38 years, 1972-2010.

Lucy joined AFSCME as a civil engineer in Contra Costa, CA in 1956. A decade later, he was working for the International in Washington, D.C. Proving his leadership abilities during the 1968 sanitation workers strike in Memphis, during which Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, Lucy became AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer in 1972. Alongside his work with AFSCME, Lucy also served with countless labor, civil rights, and civic organizations to advance causes for blacks, women, and workers locally in Washington, D.C., nationally, and internationally. Lucy helped found the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) in 1972 to represent African Americans in the labor movement. He was instrumental in the Free South Africa Movement's efforts to end apartheid in South Africa. He served as president of Public Services International (PSI) and as a member of the AFL-CIO Executive Council. These activities are reflected in the Records. Lucy retired from the position of Secretary-Treasurer in July 2010 at the AFSCME biennial convention.

The AFSCME Office of the Secretary-Treasurer: William Lucy Records document the activities and operations of AFSCME International, the Office of the Secretary-Treasurer, and AFSCME’s state and local councils. The Records also convey the actions of William Lucy in a number of labor and civil rights organizations, including TransAfrica, the NAACP, CBTU, PSI, and the AFL-CIO. The Records include correspondence, reports, speeches, financial information, legal documents, convention transcripts and proceedings, publications, and meeting minutes. Several boxes of audio recordings of International Executive Board meetings are included, and a very small number of photographs appear in the collection.

(11477) Tutu, Bieber, Robinson, Shell Boycott, Washington DC, 1986

eclemens — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:23:17 -0400

UAW president Owen Bieber and TransAfrica president Randall Robinson, flanked by other labor and civil right leaders, urge support for the boycott of Shell products at a Washington DC news conference held in January 1986.

(11478) Tutu, Bieber, Yarrow, Travers, Washington DC, 1986

eclemens — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:18:37 -0400

Left to right: Randall Robinson, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Peter Yarrow, and Mary Travers participate in an anti-apartheid demonstration during their visit to Washington, DC. Travers and Yarrow are two of the three members of the musical group Peter, Paul, and Mary.

(12102) McEntee against apartheid

jruss — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:53:02 -0400

Coretta Scott King listens as AFSCME President Gerald McEntee speaks at a rally against apartheid outside of the South African embassy in Washington, D.C. McEntee was among many protesters later arrested for their demonstrations. This image appeared in the February 1985 issue of AFSCME's Public Employee magazine.

(46607) Lucy, Robinson, Anti-Apartheid rally

scaloia — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 16:01:28 -0400

AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy speaks during a demonstration at the South African Embassy protesting apartheid in November, 1984. The sign behind him reads “South Africa Free the union leaders.” To Lucy’s left, in profile, is Randall Robinson. Robinson and Lucy were among the founders of the Free South Africa Movement. Both were arrested, along with AFSCME President Gerald McEntee, during the demonstrations.