David Newby, whose recent retirement as Wisconsin AFL-CIO president was recognized this weekend by hundreds of his friends and fans who attended events honoring him, was a throwback to the labor leaders of the early 20th century. He recognized that for working people to get a fair shake, they had to make the labor movement a genuine movement. To a greater extent than all but a handful of contemporary labor leaders, Newby put an emphasis — as a leader of the UW-Madison Teaching Assistants Association, the president of the old Madison Labor Council, and since 1994 the head of the state?s labor federation — not just on economic and political fights but on social and cultural initiatives.
Office of Strategic Communication