Thanks for this amazing memory of an amazing and wonderful person, a labor organizer in every sense of the word. “Mad genius” whose madness was the intensity of his commitment to the workers’ cause. I knew him as “Cowboy Sam” because of his leadership of a long and ultimately victorious strike by Mexican immigrant workers at a screen door and windows plant in Dallas, TX, an uncommon occurrence in that time and place. When his union, ACTWU, merged with mine, the ILGWU, Sam was one of the few who seemed to have any respect for the ILG’s tradition of organizing by strikes rather than by NLRB elections - he was good at both. So of course I was a fan, and as I followed his success in Ontario, and his work at the AFL-CIO, my respect for him grew. He was an internationalist, unlike so many US trade unionists, and as the garment industry and other industries disappeared offshore, this aspect of his vision mattered more and more. My union, Workers United, tried to get him hired to work as textile director of IndustriALL Global Union, then when that didn’t happen, to hire him to direct a national garment distribution center organizing project. We missed our chance, unfortunately, and now he’s gone. But Sam leaves behind many organized workers, and many union organizers inspired and guided by his example of commitment. Rest in power, brother!
Dave thanks for this. You captured the essence of Sam’s vibe so very well. And the realities of youth, early work, what organizing is like, and how we grow and hopefully learn.
Sam rounded out and matured in very very powerful ways and his ongoing service took many forms. He was a professional force in an institution full of crazy and brilliance. More recently he became a powerful guiding hand as a friend to me. Many will count him as a mentor. He made a major difference to those who worked with him, or were his friends, and certainly those workers who found and exercised their power because he was briefly in their orbit. Thank you for this and peace be with all of us in our mourning. I am always grateful for your writing.
Of course I'm pulled in by the union-organizing context, and moved by your portrait of this particular guy and this particular relationship.
Above and beyond that, though, I appreciate that you captured the way in which we almost always know only a particular slice of someone—a slice bounded by the period of life in which you intersect with them, by what they choose to show you, by your own POV and preconceptions. And yet ... that slice also, inevitably, contains some core truth about that person.
Appreciating that tension, perhaps even a paradox, is fundamental to knowing other people.
I came across your piece while looking for information about Sam’s untimely death. Sam was my first boyfriend, when I was 14 years old. We were both misfits at Locust Valley High School, but Sam gave less of a shit about that than I did. He never tried to fit in. He loved soccer, Devo, fishing, playing Defender, and generally poking the bear. For my birthday he gave me a cloth journal with a romantic inscription, but usually his idea of romance was leaving a souvlaki on my front steps in the middle of the night. I loved him pretty much at first sight (word?) and am grateful for that. I am grateful for this piece. Thank you.
I knew Sam before he set on life's path as a labor organizer. My memory's are of a time celebrating 4TH of July bon fires and fireworks on the beaches of Bayville or Sam scoring the game winning goal in overtime during hockey playoffs. A wonderful sense of humor and a infectious smile when I think of Sam it brings me back to a great time in my youth. Rest well my friend you will be missed by many.
Thanks for this amazing memory of an amazing and wonderful person, a labor organizer in every sense of the word. “Mad genius” whose madness was the intensity of his commitment to the workers’ cause. I knew him as “Cowboy Sam” because of his leadership of a long and ultimately victorious strike by Mexican immigrant workers at a screen door and windows plant in Dallas, TX, an uncommon occurrence in that time and place. When his union, ACTWU, merged with mine, the ILGWU, Sam was one of the few who seemed to have any respect for the ILG’s tradition of organizing by strikes rather than by NLRB elections - he was good at both. So of course I was a fan, and as I followed his success in Ontario, and his work at the AFL-CIO, my respect for him grew. He was an internationalist, unlike so many US trade unionists, and as the garment industry and other industries disappeared offshore, this aspect of his vision mattered more and more. My union, Workers United, tried to get him hired to work as textile director of IndustriALL Global Union, then when that didn’t happen, to hire him to direct a national garment distribution center organizing project. We missed our chance, unfortunately, and now he’s gone. But Sam leaves behind many organized workers, and many union organizers inspired and guided by his example of commitment. Rest in power, brother!
Dave thanks for this. You captured the essence of Sam’s vibe so very well. And the realities of youth, early work, what organizing is like, and how we grow and hopefully learn.
Sam rounded out and matured in very very powerful ways and his ongoing service took many forms. He was a professional force in an institution full of crazy and brilliance. More recently he became a powerful guiding hand as a friend to me. Many will count him as a mentor. He made a major difference to those who worked with him, or were his friends, and certainly those workers who found and exercised their power because he was briefly in their orbit. Thank you for this and peace be with all of us in our mourning. I am always grateful for your writing.
David, I loved this piece
Of course I'm pulled in by the union-organizing context, and moved by your portrait of this particular guy and this particular relationship.
Above and beyond that, though, I appreciate that you captured the way in which we almost always know only a particular slice of someone—a slice bounded by the period of life in which you intersect with them, by what they choose to show you, by your own POV and preconceptions. And yet ... that slice also, inevitably, contains some core truth about that person.
Appreciating that tension, perhaps even a paradox, is fundamental to knowing other people.
I'm glad you got to know Sam.
I came across your piece while looking for information about Sam’s untimely death. Sam was my first boyfriend, when I was 14 years old. We were both misfits at Locust Valley High School, but Sam gave less of a shit about that than I did. He never tried to fit in. He loved soccer, Devo, fishing, playing Defender, and generally poking the bear. For my birthday he gave me a cloth journal with a romantic inscription, but usually his idea of romance was leaving a souvlaki on my front steps in the middle of the night. I loved him pretty much at first sight (word?) and am grateful for that. I am grateful for this piece. Thank you.
I knew Sam before he set on life's path as a labor organizer. My memory's are of a time celebrating 4TH of July bon fires and fireworks on the beaches of Bayville or Sam scoring the game winning goal in overtime during hockey playoffs. A wonderful sense of humor and a infectious smile when I think of Sam it brings me back to a great time in my youth. Rest well my friend you will be missed by many.