Why We Wear Red on Thursday

August 15, 1989, is the tragic anniversary of the untimely death of CWA Local 1103 Chief Steward Gerry Horgan, who was run down 23 years ago this week on a NYNEX picket line in Valhalla, N.Y.

Horgan was the first, and until 2003, the only CWA member killed while picketing. His death is the reason why CWA members still today wear red in solidarity on Thursdays.

The four-month strike over health care benefits was just two weeks old when the daughter of a plant manager hit Horgan, 34, with her car while breaking through a picket line. He died the following day, Aug. 15, 1989, leaving a wife and two small daughters. He is remembered as a "natural born leader" and "the epitome of what a union representative should be."

In January 2003, in another strike over health care, Michelle Rodgers was struck by a police car while picketing the GE Appliance plant in Louisville, Ky. A member of IUE-CWA Local 83761, Rodgers was an enthusiastic union activist who was hit while crossing the street as strikers gathered before dawn.

This Wednesday August 15th, we are asking all of our Union Sisters and Brothers to wear Red to honor Gerry Horgan and the ultimate sacrifice he paid for walking a picket line!

Educate your Union Brothers and Sisters on why we wear Red on Thursdays.

And this Wednesday Wear Red in Tribute of Brother Horgan.

In Unity,

Booker Lester
Administrative Director, CWA District 3