ANDERSON — UAW Building Committee member Jon “Yogi” Cox said his annual Labor Day picnic, organized by the building committee and the Madison County Solidarity Labor Council, is a service to the community.
What started as a few, became a sea of people. Near the end, several people flocked to the Anderson UAW office gym for the annual Labor Day picnic on Monday.
“The plants are gone, but we as UAW retirees would like to show our appreciation to the community, to our co-workers,” he said. “They (the community) supported us for many years when we still had the plant here, so this is our feeling of obligation to them.” He said.
}Chili hot dogs were served along with chips, cookies and beverages along with cotton candy and popcorn.
Several classic cars were parked on the lawn for the cruise, as guests showed off their American-made classic cars.
Owners showed off several classic cars during the UAW Construction Committee and Madison County Solidarity Labor Council’s Labor Day picnic on Monday.
Wilma Carey was one of those owners. After losing her husband to COVID-19, she decided to get rid of the car, until she was convinced to do otherwise.
“My grandchildren had a seizure. They didn’t want me to sell his dad’s car and I said, ‘what do you want me to do with it?’ and they said ‘you drive it, Grandma,'” she said.
Once former race car driver Jay Mason showed her the ropes, Carey was ready for the track.
Carey now parades around Indiana in his 1949 Kurtis Kraft Midget along with other members of the Midwest Vintage Old Timers Race Car Club. When asked what he likes most about racing, Carey said the adrenaline rush of being on the track
Dawn Johnsen (City Council District 1), Rep. Terri Austin, Joey Cole (Sheriff), Joe Spencer (Clerk), Barbara Joy (Recorder), and Steve Gaiser were among several 2022 candidates in attendance.
The event was sponsored in part by the Madison County Solidarity Labor Council, which construction committee member Michael Fisher says consists of local unions working together.
Fisher said unions have made things better for workers in America, from eight-hour workdays to vacations.
Building Committee member Dennis Cheshier, who also serves as chairman of the 662 retirees, said he works to preserve and publicize the history of organized labor. He said that unions were strengthened in the United States thanks to Eugene V. Debs, a native of Indiana.
“He was born and raised in Terre Haute, Indiana. He served in the state legislature as a Democrat when James Whitcomb Riley served as a Republican. He ran five times for the presidency of the United States as a socialist. The last time he ran, he was incarcerated in the federal (penitentiary) in Atlanta for speaking out against the first world war. That is our beginning,” he said.