Labor mourns loss of 'standup guy' Darryl Owens

By BERRY CRAIG

AFT Local 1360

Former State Rep. Darryl Owens of Louisville made it into the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights Hall of Fame because he was a "model of leadership, devoting his life to public service and civil rights," according to his hometown Courier-Journal.

The Democrat was also honored on the "Wall of Fame,"  a USW District 8 banner which listed all the lawmakers who opposed "right to work," prevailing wage repeal and a paycheck deception bill in 2017. (The other end of the banner was a "Wall of Shame" that named every senator and representative who helped pass GOP Gov. Matt Bevin's trio of union-busting bills that year.)

Owens, an attorney, civil rights leader and Army veteran who represented Louisville's 43rd district in the state House from 2005 to 2018, died Tuesday night. He was 84.

Union leaders agree he was one of organized labor's best friends in Frankfort. “The workers of Kentucky lost a true champion with the passing of former State Rep. Darryl Owens," said Bill Londrigan, Kentucky State AFL-CIO president.  "I have known Darryl for over thirty-years and have fond memories of his time as Jefferson County commissioner where Darryl served for many years."

Added Londrigan: "We never had to guess where Darryl was on issues of workers’ rights and civil rights – he was always on our side!  During his many years of service as state representative, Darryl was a consistent and vocal supporter of every proposal that helped workers and a fierce opponent of anti-worker, anti-union legislation.  Rest in Power, Darryl Owens.” 

State AFL-CIO Vice President Ashley Snider remembered Owens as "such an advocate for working people. Day in and day out, he was always up for the fight. He was a really good guy, and we need more people like him."

Kirk Gillenwaters also knew Owens from his time on the commission and in the state House. "We could always count on Darrell's vote," said Gillenwaters, president of the Kentucky branch of the Alliance for Retired Americans and a Louisville UAW Local 862 retiree. "He set the bar for what a class act a politician should be.

"Not only did he serve Louisville well, Darryl Owens served the whole state of Kentucky extremely well. We will miss our friend. We have lost an icon."

Steve Barger, Kentucky ARA treasurer who spent 52 years in the Carpenter's union, remembered Owens as "historically a friend of organized labor. He was union-oriented."

Like Gillenwaters, Barger met Owens when he was a commissioner. "Then and when he progressed to the General Assembly, he was a spokesman for organized labor; he was a spokesman for people that were in dire straits; he was a spokesman for people that had a difficult life. He was a fine man, and I am terribly sorry he is gone."

Cornelius Cotton, president/business manager of Louisville LiUNA Local 576, remembered Owens as "a standup guy who meant a lot to the labor movement--a good friend always out there championing everything he could, not just for the betterment of the labor movement, but for people, period. It is sad that he passed." 

"Darryl Owens was a true friend of the working families of Kentucky," said Bill Finn, former state director of the Kentucky State Building and Construction Trades Council. "He was a solid supporter of any improvement affecting labor in Frankfort. His determination to fight for the underdog and give people second chances should be an inspiration for us all. His passion as an advocate to make life better and little kinder, will be missed."

"He was a friend in the House and one we could always count on to side with labor. said Donna Haynes, state AFL-CIO Executive Board member. He realized what labor meant to all of us." 

Owens was born in Louisville on Nov. 10, 1937, and graduated from Central High School. He earned a BA from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, and a JD from Howard University. His immediate successor in the House was Charles Booker, who is running for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination in the May primary.

Owens was the first African American elected to the Jefferson County Fiscal Court, the first African American to run for mayor of Louisville and the first African American to serve as an assistant state attorney general, the Courier-Journal story also said.