William “Bill” Lucy, a District resident who served as secretary-treasurer of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) for nearly four decades, was considered by many people throughout the world as a leading African American labor leader and transformative rights activist.
“Bill Lucy was a giant, one of the most accomplished and influential trade unionists ever — in any country, at any moment in history,” said Lee Saunders, president of AFSCME. “He did as much as anyone to advance the dignity of all working people here in the United States and around the world. He was one of our greatest warriors ever for civil rights, labor rights and human rights.”
One of Lucy’s defining achievements occurred in 1968, when he traveled to his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, to help resolve the sanitation workers’ strike by marching alongside the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as the workers sought the city’s recognition of their union, AFSCME Local 1733.
Lucy and a Memphis pastor are credited with coining the now-iconic “I AM A MAN” slogan, which was embraced by the workers, emblazoned on signs, and soon became ubiquitous.
In addition, Lucy co-founded and served as longtime leader of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists. He was also co-founder of the Free South Africa Movement (FSAM) that launched the successful anti-apartheid campaign in the United States. The dedicated labor leader was the first Black president of Public Services International (PSI), the world’s largest union federation, and served on the executive council of the AFL-CIO, the federation’s highest decision-making body.
Lucy’s career in labor started in 1953, when he joined the Contra Costa County, California Public Works Department and became active in an employee association that represented county workers but lacked negotiating power. He was among the association’s members who changed to an AFSCME trade union affiliate.
In 1965, as president of his local union, Lucy caught the attention of AFSCME International President Jerry Wurf, who brought him to the District to work at headquarters. In 1972, after serving as Wurf’s executive assistant, Lucy was elected AFSCME secretary-treasurer.
After his release from prison in 1990, Nelson Mandela toured several U.S. cities, making a stop at the AFSCME convention in Miami. In 1994, Lucy led an AFL-CIO delegation to monitor the 1994 South African elections in which Mandela became president.
Lucy retired as AFSCME secretary-treasurer in 2010 after 38 years in the position. He died September 25, 2024, at the age of 90.
Ever passionate about labor work, Lucy urged union members at a Boston convention to remain active in the fight for social justice.
“We’ve always known that there’s a crisis,” Lucy said. “It may be more intense now, but there’s always been a crisis for millions of people not as lucky as we are in this room. There’s a daily crisis in their lives, as they struggle to put bread on their tables, to put clothes on their backs, to have a roof on their heads. We have a responsibility to help them out.”
