District 8 SOAR’s Cliff Carlton Organizes Roanoke Labor Day Parade for Sixth Consecutive Year

Seven years ago, because Roanoke, Virginia did not have an annual Labor Day Parade, an unnamed reporter, from a local Roanoke newspaper, thought that the labor movement was not as active as some union folks in the area believed it to be.

Thinking he could maybe get some legs on the story, the reporter challenged Cliff Carlton – a 23-year Steelworker at Yokohama Tire – with an accusatory question that has stuck with Cliff to this day. “Where is labor?” the reporter said, mockingly.

Cliff did not respond; at least, not with words.

Instead, he started organizing to make sure that there was a Labor Day Parade in Roanoke the next year. Just last month, Roanoke had its sixth consecutive Labor Day Parade, and Cliff boasts that the parade is getting better every year.

Needless to say, Cliff hasn’t stopped working, even though he retired in 2015. He’s kept busy organizing the annual Labor Day Parade with some fellow retirees, and he was just recently elected the President of Virginia’s chapter of the Alliance for Retired Americans – a national organization that is focused on protecting vital programs like Social Security and Medicare.

Cliff is excited to take on this role with the Alliance, because he sees it as an extension of all the work he does with his SOAR Chapter (8-UR2), and even his time as a Division Chairman and member of his local union’s Executive Board (USW Local 1023). Cliff has also been Vice President of the western Virginia Labor Federation for 15 years.

Cliff knows that not everyone is going to be as active in their retirement as he is. However, he believes everyone should consider getting involved with their local SOAR chapter, if they are nearing retirement. Cliff’s SOAR chapter has even supported the bargaining committee at his local union, and has plans to continue doing so in their upcoming negotiations with Yokohama.

“It’s nice to sit back and rest, but, it’s not a luxury we have. We want to keep our benefits or maybe even improve upon them.”