Jackson House renovation celebrated in Paducah
By BERRY CRAIG
AFT Local 1360
The 19-story Jackson House is Paducah’s tallest building.
But the 200-foot brick, stone, glass and steel structure is also a monument to organized labor. Even so, many locals apparently don't know that the building's 238 apartments rest on a stout union foundation.
Billed as "the best in affordable housing, located in downtown Paducah," the 1974-vintage facility is jointly owned by the Kentucky State AFL-CIO and the Paducah-based West Kentucky Building and Construction Trade Council and Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council.
“Union labor built this, and union labor renovated it,” said board member Jeff Wiggins, who is also the Kentucky State AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer. "This is an example of what union men and women do in your community."
Wiggins, who is from Reidland, a Paducah suburb, drove from Frankfort to join the festivities held to help celebrate completion of a two-year $16.9 million apartment modernization project.
Many in the crowd fondly recalled veteran local trade unionist Bill Sanders, who is considered the Jackson House’s founding father. The companion 36-year-old W.B. Sanders Retirement Center, across the street, is named for him.
Sanders was executive secretary-treasurer of the building trade council, said Larry Robinson, a former board member and Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 184 retiree. “It was a joint effort of the building trades and the state AFL-CIO.”
He added, "All union work built this and the W.B. Sanders building. It was all 100 percent union.”
Beacon Property Management Co. of Louisville operates both apartment houses on behalf of their union owners. Hourly employees are union members, too.
A mostly union board of directors oversees the Jackson House and Sanders Center, explained Wiggins, former president of the area council and president of USW Local 9447.
The board is comprised of state AFL-CIO, building trades and area council representatives plus community members, including J.W. Cleary, a USW Local 550 retiree.
"W.B. Sanders had it in his heart to make this happen," said Cleary, who is also president of the Paducah NAACP branch. "It makes me feel good to be here today. Here we are several years after it was built, and it has been made to look so good."
Cleary said his mentor was W.C. Young, an early board member and national civil rights and labor leader from Paducah. His widow, Carol Young, was in the crowd that gathered on a sunny afternoon on the Jackson House front lawn.
“This is a proud day for senior citizens," said Young. But she, too, doubts that the Jackson House's union roots are well-known anymore. "They used to be, but people now think of it as affordable housing, senior citizen housing and HUD housing.
"But it needs to be documented that organized labor built this."
Wiggins shared the stage with fellow board member Al Cunningham, Mayor Brandi Harless, State Rep. Gerald Watkins, D-Paducah, and others. Cunningham, a retired business representative for IUPAT District Council 91, spoke on behalf of organized labor.
Board President Brandon Duncan, a USW District 8 staff representative, was out of town on union business. But he sent prepared remarks.
"This building is a prime example of how unions matter to our area and our communities," said Cunningham. "This building is such an icon to our area, but I don’t think unions get the recognition they should for being such a part of this."
Jimmy Evans, another board member, agreed. He's business manager of IBEW Local 816. "Unions have been investing in buildings like this all over the country," he said, citing similar facilities in Owensboro and Louisville.
"They are all such a great opportunity for people to see what unions do for their communities."
Kyle Henderson, a Jackson House-Sanders center director, said the two apartment buildings are "a true testament to the investments unions have in their communities." Henderson is also business manager of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 184 and president of the building trade and area councils.