ELIZABETH KIMMEL-HIEKEN

1915-2001

Elizabeth Kimmel, throughout her life, has lived and breathed union. Born into a United Mine Worker family, she joined the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) in 1938 after taking a job in a Kentucky garment factory.

Soon Sister Kimmel became an effective officer and organizer, leading ILGWU efforts from Kentucky to Kansas to Colorado. When an organizing effort brought her to Texas in 1947, she stayed, eventually helping expand the labor movement through a new, emerging public employee union, AFSCME. She was at the forefront in leading AFSCME in Houston and Texas for two decades before her retirement.

During more than 40 years in the labor movement, Sister Kimmel has tirelessly organized workers, walked picket lines, fed the unemployed, marched for civil rights,lobbied the legislature, and pioneered the way for more women and minorities in trade unionism.

Her contributions are too numerous to mention, as are the union offices she has held. She continues in retirement to actively work on the behalf of the union movement, senior citizens, the handicapped, and the poor.

Sister Elizabeth Kimmel is a true Hall-of-Famer, and a champion for us all.