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AFL-CIO AND WORLD PEACE PRIZE—IRISH PEACE FOUNDATION/IRISH NATIONAL CAUCUS

By Fr. Sean McManus

In February 1975, the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO invited me to Bal Harbour, Florida,  to brief them on the Irish issue. The Executive Council on that same day endorsed the Irish National Caucus. President Meany delegated Lane Kirkland, Secretary-Treasurer, to announce the endorsement at a Caucus luncheon hosted by Labor Leaders and attended by a couple of hundred labor leaders.

Then about ten years later, the Executive Council invited me to brief them in Bal Harbour on the MacBride Principles—a corporate code of conduct for American companies doing business in Northern Ireland.

The AFL-CIO became the first significant group to endorse the Mac Bride Principles.

So, I have known every President of the AFL-CIO since George Meany to Liz Shuler.

Indeed, when we honored Ms. Esther Lopez, International Secretary-Treasurer, UFCW, with a World Peace Prize at the AFL-CIO Headquarters, February 5, 2019, then Secretary-Treasurer Shuler asked us if she could speak at our Presentation Ceremony. Of course, we were delighted and honored to accommodate her. She stated: “Thank you, Barbara Flaherty, for the kind introduction. I also want to thank Father Sean McManus for his leadership and vision, as well as Reverend Dr. Han Min Su and the entire World Peace Prize Awarding Council for everything they do to build a better world. There is a crystal-clear connection between the labor movement and peace and justice in our world.”

International President Perrone and his top team praised our honoring of Ms. Lopez in this Ad in the Honorific Journal:

“The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) proudly supports the Irish National Caucus World Peace Prize.

We salute this year’s World Peace Prize for Labor Leadership recipients, including our very own UFCW International Secretary-Treasurer Esther R. Lopez for their contribution to world peace through seeking solidarity, equality, and justice for all working men and women.”

And, President Shuler made the following statement welcoming our re-naming of the Prize to the “Richard L. Trumka World Peace Prize for Solidarity,” said: “Rich Trumka’s contributions to peace and prosperity around the world were countless. He was a global ambassador for worker rights, economic justice, dignity, and respect for all human beings. I can think of no one more deserving of this honor.” (November 8, 2021).

And, when we honored President Trumka himself with the World Peace Prize of  “Roving Ambassador for Peace” —(his inaugural and formal launching of the World Peace Prize throughout the AFL-CIO/American Organized Labor), he said: “I know that Father McManus has moved the needle [on solidarity, justice, and peace in Ireland], and Father, for that I offer you, on behalf of the entire AFL-CIO, a sincere Thank you.” —President Richard L. Trumka, AFL-CIO, February 3, 2016.’

And, President Trumka also later stated:

“I want to thank Barbara Flaherty, Fr. McManus, and the World Peace Prize Awarding Council for recognizing the nexus between Organized Labor and peace. Too many times in the past we were not looked at as being part of the peace process. So, I really appreciate the World Peace Prize Awarding Council recognizing the connection between fighting for social justice and peace.”

—President Richard L. Trumka, AFL-CIO in his acceptance address on receiving the World Peace Prize for Labor Leadership at AFL-CIO Headquarters in Washington, DC. June 19, 2018. (To review President Trumka’s acceptance speech, go to vimeo.com/275953504)

TRUMKA FAMILY ENDORSEMENT AND PRAISE

The re-naming of the Prize has been warmly welcomed by the Trumka Family: “We are honored that Rich’s name will live on, always linked with solidarity and peace because the World Peace Prize for Solidarity will be re-named in his honor the ‘Richard L. Trumka World Peace Prize for Solidarity.'” (October 9, 2021).

And, President Trumka’s son, Rich Jr., stated: “[My father] appreciated that the World Peace Prize saw what so many others missed…that organized labor through solidarity, and the pursuit of justice, forges the path to peace.” (January 5, 2023).

CAPITOL HILL. Monday, March 20, 2023.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The World Peace Prize has announced that South Carolina State President, AFL-CIO, Charles Brave, Jr., is a Laureate of the “Richard L. Trumka World Peace Prize for Solidarity.”

The Presentation Ceremony will take place from 2:30 to 4:30 PM, May 11, 2023, in the AFL-CIO Headquarters, 2999 Sunset Blvd. Suite 103, West Columbia, SC 29169. 

President Brave’s office will issue the invitations to this free event—not a fundraiser.

The announcement was made by Fr. Sean McManus, Chief Judge of the World Peace Prize and President of the Capitol Hill-based Irish National Caucus/Irish Peace Foundation.

Fr. McManus explained: “The late, great President Trumka, God rest him, on February 3, 2016, at his AFL-CIO Headquarters, helped us to launch the World Peace Prize throughout American Organized Labor. In his memory, we re-named the World Peace Prize for Solidarity the: “Richard L. Trumka World Peace Prize for Solidarity.”

There was wide and warm welcome for the re-naming of the prize.

Organized Labor as “Organized Love of Neighbor” because “Love of Neighbor” means, in effect, the doing of social justice on this earth: “The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress.”— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1965 Address to Illinois AFL-CIO.

President Trumka deeply appreciated and enthusiastically supported our linking Organized Labor to the World Peace Prize and that is now an important part of his legacy. View his own 3-minute statement— https://drive.google.com/file/d/13ZF5S61DVCS7Cuey4YAl3Dn6kA0ztr3C/view

And President Trumka’s son, Rich Jr., has stated:'[My father] appreciated that the World Peace Prize saw what so many others missed…that organized labor through solidarity, and the pursuit of justice, forges the path to peace.’ (January 5, 2023). 

President Trumka also greatly welcomed our policy of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our selection of World Peace Prize Laureates.

I have the honor of being the Chief Judge of the World Peace Prize, which is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It was founded in 1989 by the late Presbyterian Minister, Rev. Dr. Han Min Su. Its Awarding Council of international and inter-faith Judges are representatives of all nine major world religious groups.

 I was pleased to propose President Brave because he is a true trailblazer—being the first Black person to ever be a State President of the massive AFL-CIO. And now he is the first State AFL-CIO President to be announced a Laureate of the Richard L. Trumka World Peace Prize for Solidarity—and I know President Trumka is smiling down on that. Furthermore, it’s one thing to be a Union Leader in a strong Labor Union State, and another thing to be a Union Leader in a State like South Carolina where Union membership rates are the lowest in the entire United States. That takes admirable steadfastness, dedication, and solidarity. And deserves special commendation.

President Brave —like the beloved President Trumka, AFL-CIO — has shown a lifelong commitment to the Union, and to solidarity, social justice, and peace. And social justice is the heart and soul of peace, and of the World Peace Prize.

Since I became the Chief Judge in 2013, we have made social justice front and center—the heart and soul— of the World Peace Prize. And, also, we have placed American Organized Labor in the category of those who should be considered worthy recipients of the World Peace Prize—because Labor leaders who spend their lives fighting for social justice for working women and men are also building peace locally, nationally, and worldwide.

And the wonderful thing about placing social justice at the heart and center of peace is this: People of faith believe that faith must be the faith that does justice on this earth (otherwise, it is not faith). And people of no faith, but of goodwill, also know they have to do justice (otherwise, they are not of goodwill).

Furthermore, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us that peace is the fruit of justice; and Saint Pope John Paul II taught us, “peace is the fruit of solidarity.”  

President Brave said:” I am honored and humbled by this precious and blessed Prize, which I accept on behalf of the South Carolina AFL-CIO. To receive a World Peace Prize re-named in honor of the great and beloved President Trumka —and, moreover, a Prize for solidarity—is something that no true Labor person could receive without feeling overwhelmed. I am profoundly grateful.”

END.

Recently I was awarded the World Peace Prize and named: “Roving Ambassador for Peace.” This prestigious award was bestowed upon me—the first Teamster to be honored by this organization dedicated to social and labor justice—by Father Sean McManus, president and founder of the Washington-based Irish National Caucus. In his remarks, McManus said that I was “the perfect exemplar and role model for the World Peace Prize.” WOW! It was an extraordinary moment that made me think, how exactly do you “rove for peace”? That’s not so easy.

The awards ceremony was filled with noble talk on weighty issues. McManus spoke about their two main objectives: to assert the basic principle that peace is the fruit of justice and that working for peace means, in fact, working for social justice. And to firmly place the American Labor Movement in the category of those who work for peace—all the time, every day, year-after-year since the late 1800s. That’s a big goal. McManus went on to quote from several biblical scholars and members of the clergy who support the notion that working for justice is required for those with faith in God or those people simply of good will. He mentioned that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. loved to quote the Prophet Amos, who said: “Let justice roll down like water, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” McManus said that even “people of no faith and no religion—but of good will—can agree in principle with these words. All people of good will, all fair-minded people, recognize that, without justice, civilized society cannot stand; fair treatment cannot stand; fair employment cannot stand; and a just and living wage cannot stand. That is how central and basic social justice is. It unites people of faith who want to do God’s work on Earth—and it unites people of no faith who want to do the fair and decent thing.”

Upon receiving a plaque and medal at the awards ceremony, I addressed the audience, telling them, “To receive an award inspired by the work of some of America’s greatest leaders in social and labor justice—like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka—is humbling. They believed that labor justice and social justice are forever intertwined. You can’t have one without the other. But equality, respect and compassion should not only be workplace goals, but also everyday goals of humanity. Dr. King perhaps expressed it best when he said: ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ Dr. King also said: ‘Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.’ How well that fits the mission of the World Peace Foundation, which is to NOT remain silent in the face of threats to justice and peace. And it is the mission of labor unions, like Teamsters Local 237 NOT to be silent either.”

So now that I am entrusted with a mighty title and lofty assignment, questions remain, how does one “rove for peace”? Is it something you actively look for like a missing puzzle piece? And where do you search? Or is peace something you can create like a painting? Is it something you can achieve alone, or does it require collaboration? And perhaps the biggest question: once you’ve found it, what’s the next step? Beatle John Lennon had a suggestion when he famously wrote the song verse “Give peace a chance.” The irony here, of course, is that this is now etched in stone in Central Park, where he was assassinated. Clearly, roving for peace is complicated.  Perhaps the job needs to be broken-down into parts: a sort of micro/macro distinction of personal peace and world peace. Peace of mind can be derived from the satisfaction found in offering kindness and compassion to others…feeling good about yourself because you helped someone, especially someone in need. World peace is trickier and requires a bigger operation, yet starts by voting and helping to elect people who are admirable and worthy of our trust—people who seek public office not for personal gain but instead, as Father McManus said, are “people of principles who just want to do the decent thing.” Macro peace thereby can only be achieved by those who will lead us with an unwavering commitment for justice and fairness.

Clearly, the job of a “Roving Ambassador for Peace” is to identify people of good will, inspired by Spike Lee’s advice to “do the right thing” and encourage them to get involved.