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Oral History Center University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California David Sickler A Lifetime as Labor Organizer, AFL-CIO Leader and Champion of Immigrant Workers Interviews conducted by Lisa Rubens and Danny Beagle in 2014 Copyright © 2016 by The Regents of the University of California ii Since 1954 the Oral History Center of the Bancroft Library, formerly the Regional Oral History Office, has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral History is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is bound with photographs and illustrative materials and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ********************************* All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and David Sickler signed July 15, 2014. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Excerpts up to 1000 words from this interview may be quoted for publication without seeking permission as long as the use is non-commercial and properly cited. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to The Bancroft Library, Head of Public Services, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000, and should follow instructions available online at http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/collections/cite.html It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: David Sickler, “David Sickler and Carole Sickler: A Lifetime as Labor Organizer, AFL-CIO Leader and Champion of Immigrant Workers,” conducted by Lisa Rubens and Danny Beagle in 2014, Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2016. iii David Sickler, photo courtesy David Sickler iv David and Carole Sickler v David Sickler has a long and distinguished career as a labor organizer, as a leader within the AFL-CIO and as an innovator of efforts to organize immigrant workers. At 18, he began work on the bottling line at Coors Brewing Company in Golden Colorado, soon becoming a shop steward and then business manager of Brewery Workers Union, Local 366. Following a strike in l977, AFL-CIO President George Meany picked Sickler to head the national boycott of Coors Beer, a struggle that lasted ten years and led to a successful resolution, and became a model campaign emulated by other unions. In 1986 Sickler was appointed AFL-CIO Regional Director as well as the Executive Director of the Los Angeles-Orange Counties Organizing Committee. Following passage of the Immigration Reform Act in l988, he established the Labor Immigrant Assistance Project and the AFL-CIO Immigrant Workers’ Association. Subsequently he was the senior labor advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, as Commissioner of Public Works, and as Executive Director of Employment Relations at the L.A. Department of Water and Power. Beginning in 2009 Sickler was Southern Regional Director of The California State Building and Construction Trades Council. He has served as Chair of the UCLA Center for Labor and Research Advisory Committee and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Pat Brown Institute. vi Table of Contents—David Sickler Interview History by Lisa Rubens xi Interview 1: March 24, 2014 Audio File 1 1 Acknowledging Carole Sickler and Danny Beagle’s role in the interview — Birth and family background — Developing a social conscience: understanding the political make-up of Golden Colorado and the centrality of Coors Brewing Company — Not on a high school academic track — Reflections on family life: impact of father’s accident; going to work at an early age — Variety of work experiences — Hired at Coors — The work processes and culture at Coors — Depiction of the Coors family: their history in right-wing politics; placing Coors in the context of brewing and manufacturing in the USA Audio File 2 24 Becoming interested in union politics — Becoming a union activist: learning the contract; assuming leadership; seeking labor education; importance of a mentor in Denver — Organizing at Coors: stopping a strike; negotiating with the company; putting out a newspaper; organizing over-the-road truck drivers; the role of Vietnam vets — Personal views on Vietnam Audio File 3 43 Winning significant battles at Coors — Becoming the Western Regional Field Representative for the AFL-CIO — Going to Los Angeles to learn about the Los Angeles/Orange County Organizing Committee [LAOCOC], the AFL’s leading organizing group — Trying to create an organizing program for Montana, Wyoming and Idaho — AFL-CIO President George Meany asks Sickler to head the national boycott of Coors beer — Background to the Coors strike — Specific organizing campaigns: working with the farmworkers and the gay community in San Francisco; targeting distributors; meeting extraordinary community organizers; working with outstanding LAOCOC staff Audio File 4 65 AFL-CIO makes additional assignments to Sickler and reduces time allotment on Coors boycott — Being strategically “ingenious” — Bamboozled by a 60 Minutes account of the Coors strike — Coors initiates negotiations with AFL-CIO — Going to work with LAOCOC and running the boycott: Los Angeles a huge Coors market; working with neighborhood groups, car clubs, colleges and labor representatives — Working with the AFL-CIO structure — Organizing immigrant workers — Working with HERE [Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees vii Union] — Carole Sickler discusses her career with HERE; overview of the union movement among food workers in Los Angeles Interview 2: March 25, 2015 Audio File 5 86 Reflections on brother Dwight Sickler: role in strike at Coors; managing the boycott in San Francisco; a shop steward for the Teamsters — Discusses the high degree of scrutiny placed on unions — Sued by Coors for exposing dangerous practices — Devising strategies to undermine Coors: pasteurization legislation; supporting candidates including Pat Schroeder — Discusses Coors substantial influence in state and national politics: creating a political agenda for Ronald Reagan; establishing the Heritage Foundation — Observations on George Meany — Effect of the transition from George Meany to his successor Lane Kirkland — More stories about the Coors boycott: role of AFL-CIO and California’s State Federation of Labor; Coors’ response; more on the 60 Minutes broadcast; Dave’s fateful meeting with Joe Coors — Interview with Carole Sickler: variety of labor and political campaign experience; family background; marriage to Chuck Hogan, head of LAOCOC; working for Bill Robertson, Executive Director L.A. Federation of Labor; becomes Program Coordinator; marriage to Dave Sickler after Hogan’s death; working for L.A. Fed Executive Assistant Miguel Contreras; reflecting on important women leaders in Los Angeles; the work of overseeing twenty committees; assisting the Coors boycott Audio File 6 107 More on Carole Sickler’s work with L.A. Fed: Committee on Political Education — Impact of Executive Treasury Secretary, James [Jim] Wood — Miguel Contreras succeeds Wood; hires Fabian Nunez as Political Director; impact on Carole’s position — Carole and Dave discuss the importance of LAOCOC: blocked by AFL-CIO; funded by local unions — The rise of union-busting organizations and union response to anti-labor consultants — Dave’s involvement with immigration reform: reckoning with Immigration Reform and Control Act [IRCA, 1986] — Teresa Sanchez and Labor’s Immigrant Assistant Project — Formation and activities of California Immigrant Workers Association [CIWA] — Aside on Front Lash, the AFL-CIO counter to Students for a Democratic Society — Dave appointed AFL-CIO Western Regional Director Audio File 7 127 Major campaigns of LAOCOC and Immigrant Assistant Project coincide — Organizing American Racing Equipment workers — Organizing drywall workers — More on Dave’s appointment as Regional Director — Working with HERE in Las Vegas; Frontier Hotel Strike — Working in Hawaii and Guam — Working on national issues such as minimum wage and NAFTA; role of Dianne Feinstein; working with Peter Olney — Justice For Janitors — Power struggles within the viii AFL-CIO over succession to Lane Kirkland; incident with the Alameda County Labor Council — John Sweeney elected President AFL-CIO Audio File 8 148 Effect of Sweeney’s election — L.A. MAP [Los Angeles Manufacturing Action Project] — Formation of APALA [Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance] — Appointed special assistant to John Sweeney — Strawberry workers’ campaign — Hired by California State Building and Construction Trades Council [SBCTC] — Discusses Carpenters Union Interview 3: July 14, 2014