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JACQUES LOVEALL, President, Intl. Vice President Main Office 2200 Professional Dr, Roseville, CA 95661 (916) 786 - 0588 (888) 8 E I G H T |
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JACQUES LOVEALL, President, Intl. Vice President Main Office 2200 Professional Dr, Roseville, CA 95661 (916) 786 - 0588 (888) 8 E I G H T |
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Obie V. Brandon: A Lifetime of Loyalty to Labor’s Cause
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Back row, from left: Brandon family members Brandon Clizbe, Matt Clizbe, Tera Brandon Clizbe, Becky Brandon, Eric Brandon, Obie Brandon, Kathy Brandon and Taylor Brandon. Front row: Cameron Clizbe and Lorene Brandon. |
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S acramento labor leader Obie V. Brandon passed away on July 16 after a long illness. He was 66.“Obie Brandon was a powerful voice for working families in California,” Jacques Loveall, president of UFCW 8-Golden State, said. Brandon, a life-long resident of West Sacramento, was born into a labor family. His father was an Operating Engineer and his mother was a retired employee of Washington Unified School District in West Sacramento. He began his career in 1962 as a flour miller for Pillsbury. When the plant closed, he took a position with United Grocers and became a member of the International Longshoremen’s Warehousemen Union Local 17. After two years of military service in Vietnam, Brandon returned to his job at United Grocers and became active in Local 17. He was elected Recording-Secretary in 1970, and in 1973 he became the Local’s President. |
His reputation as a tough negotiator caught the attention of Roy Mack of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 498, who nicknamed him the “Mad Irishman.”Brandon eventually joined Mack’s staff. After eight months, he was elected Secretary-Treasurer, position he held from 1982 until 1990. After UFCW 588 merged with the Local 498 in 1991, Brandon served UFCW 588 as Vice President and Legislative Coordinator. Additionally, he served as a Trustee for the Retail and Wholesale Health and |
Welfare Plan until his retirement in 2005. In addition to his work with the ILWU, Brandon was one of the founding board members of the Coalition of Organized Labor, an organization of 24 local Unions representing some 150,000 members and committed to bringing Unions together to provide mutual support.He served until his passing as the group’s Secretary-Treasurer and also served as Vice President of the Sacramento Central Labor Council, AFLCIO. “He was a champion of the little guy,” Loveall said. “That was his passion. He was a role model for many of us who followed him into this field and we will miss him. ” Brandon is survived by his devoted wife of 40 years, Kathy; his daughter, Tera Clizbe; his son, Eric, a UFCW 8 District Union Representative; his three grandchildren, Cameron, Brandon and Taylor; and a fourth grandchild who will be born this fall. Also surviving him
are his mother, Lorene
Brandon, his sister, Barbara
Moore, and many nieces and nephews. |
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Official publication of UFCW 8-Golden State Jacques Loveall, President |
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