RONNIE RASPBERRY

1941-2013

Ronnie Raspberry commanded respect as a key leader of the Houston building trades unions, working for decades to better the lives of skilled working people who built the Gulf Coast region. 

A Journeyman Wireman in IBEW Local 716 for 45 years, Raspberry conveyed his heartfelt belief that a union apprenticeship program was the best training possible for each discipline in the building trades. His knowledge and enthusiasm rubbed off on countless union workers and earned notice well beyond the labor movement. Raspberry’s varied leadership roles in his union local, the Texas State Association of Electrical Workers, Houston and Gulf Coast Building and Construction Trades Council, Texas Building and Construction Trades Council, and Houston Joint Apprentice Training Committee provided platforms for his advocacy. 

Raspberry’s vision for success was not limited to the IBEW or Gulf Coast region. He sought a “union community” that would benefit union and non-union families alike and grow the ability of all working people to speak up together. An outsized personality who was beloved by his Brothers and Sisters, Raspberry had a gift for igniting action. 

Raspberry and his wife, Roycie, had two sons and four daughters. One of his favorite hobbies was cooking at competitive barbecue events, and Raspberry brought his leadership skills to offices in the Gulf Coast BBQ Cookers Association. Whether it was meat or union activism, the man could cook.