A. Philip Randolph Institute Honors Budding Labor Stars

Wilson, Mosely receive first Montgomery and  Springer-Kemp Award

Contact:  Dewitt Walton, 412-562-2290

PITTSBURGH – United Steel Workers (USW) International Vice President Fred Redmond was on hand to honor two rising stars in the labor movement – Pittsburgh Federation of  Teachers Executive Board Secretary Sylvia Wilson and Khari Mosely, national political/field director for the League of Young Voters.

The pair was honored over the weekend at the first annual A. Philip Randolph Institute Oliver Montgomery & Maida Springer-Kemp Awards Banquet, sponsored by the Pittsburgh APRI chapter.

Wilson, of East Liberty, has been secretary of the Pittsburgh AFT executive board since 1979 and is an assistant to AFT Pittsburgh President John Tarka. She was an elementary teacher for 26 years and has a long history of union and political activism.

Mosely is a Pittsburgh native who was the campaign director for Pittsburgh UNITED and the state director in Pennsylvania for the League of Young Voters before joining their national staff. He serves as the democratic chairman of Pittsburgh’s 22nd Ward and has received numerous awards. He also sits on several boards, including the A. Philip Randolph Institute, ACLU Pittsburgh Chapter and The Mattress Factory.

“Sylvia and Khari are two rising stars in the labor movement. They represent everything we need to honor the work of legends like Oliver Montgomery and Maida Springer-Kemp, while also working to secure a strong, diverse, vibrant labor movement for our future generations,” said Redmond, who’s also the APRI National Board chairman.

The April 12 event held at the  Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh featured a keynote speech by William Lucy, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists president and AFSME secretary-treasurer.

Founded in 1965, the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) is a national organization of black trade unionists whose mission is to fight for racial equality and economic justice. APRI spearheads the “Black-Labor Alliance,” an initiative to build black community support for the trade union movement and to convey to labor the needs and concerns of black Americans. There are more than 150 chapters in 36 states. APRI members are involved in political and community education, lobbying, legislative action and labor support activities.  For more information about the A. Philip Randolph Institute, visit http://www.apri.org/.

The USW represents 850,000 workers in the U.S. and Canada employed in the industries of metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service sector. For more information: www.usw.org/. 

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