CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A giant in West Virginia labor had died. Jim Bowen, the longtime member and leader of the United Steelworkers of America and formerly the President of the West Virginia AFL-CIO died in Orlando, Florida Monday. He was 87.
Bowen became best known as part of the negotiating team during the Steelworkers’ labor dispute with Ravenswood Aluminum in the early 1990s. The nearly two-year dispute was a watershed moment of organized labor in the state and Bowen was one of the union’s negotiators who helped forge an agreement which ended the dispute.
“Jim said there are five qualities that led to their victory: labor solidarity, community support, bravery, creativity and perseverance. That sums up how Jim conducted himself throughout his career. He never gave up, and he inspires all of us to live up to his unwavering standards.,” said current AFL-CIO President Josh Sword.
Sword noted Bowen lost a child to a workplace accident which cemented his dedication to workers safety on the job and taking care of those who are injured or the families of those killed in a workplace incident.
“Even before that he was dedicated to it, but certainly afterward he made it a priority to help those who were either injured or died on the job,” he said.
Bowen served as the head of the West Virginia AFL-CIO from 1997 to 2004. During those years he was a fixture at the State Capitol and lobbied on behalf of labor issues. His most notable fight during those years involved the 2003 battle to reform the state’s beleaguered Workers Compensation program.
“Here’s the condition of the bill without anybody’s question, we have now been promised another pig in a poke,” Bowen told MetroNews as the legislation was introduced to the 2003 regular session.,
He would later criticize the measure in a public hearing ahead of the vote.
“The current bill in front of you is one I call the Corporation Compensation Bill. So far all it does is penalize the injured workers,” said Bowen during his remarks at the hearing.
Kenny Perdue took over as head of the AFL-CIO in 2004 when Bowen retired.
“Jim Bowen was a force of nature,” Perdue said in a released statement. “He was known for his booming, deep voice that would not only be heard loud and clear among the countless rallies and protests, but also in the halls of the Statehouse, where he tirelessly fought for laws to protect and respect working people.”
“Jim was the greatest labor leader I’ve known in my lifetime,” said West Virginia Education Association President Dale Lee. “Brashness, he just told you how it was the whole time. I lost a great friend, but West Virginia and all the working people lost a great friend and advocate.”