April 5, 2013
By Lew Friedman
Harry Kelber the Labor Educator, 98 years old, quietly passed away March 30, 2013. Harry was an inspiration, writing three columns for me to send out to this list and post to this website until about a month ago.
A strong union man for some 70+ years, Harry was also critical of union leadership and a believer in rank-and-file unionism. Harry announced last June on his 98th birthday that he planned to run for the presidency of the AFL-CIO, not so much to win, but to articulate his road to strong unionism.
Harry has written a number of booklets that are used by labor unions in large number, especially "Why Unions Are Good for You and Your Family" (in English and Spanish), "Why Unions are in Politics" and "Belong and Be Strong…" You can read about all his booklets on his website at http://www.laboreducator.org.
About a month ago, Harry stopped sending me articles. When we checked on him, it was clear that he was slowing down and might not write another column. However, on his website, you can see his articles from the past almost 10 years. In the past year, Ralph Nader, The Nation, The Progressive, Corporate Crime Reporter and others have interviewed him and/or written articles about Harry.
Harry will be missed by us all.
