On December 2 in Chicago, Bloomington’s John Penn was inducted into the Illinois Labor History Society’s Union Hall of Honor.
John is a 57-year Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) Bloomington Local 362 member and has served 49 years as an elected union officer. Listing John’s accomplishments could fill this page. Instead, John’s philosophy and community spirit is worth sharing.
In 2003, John was the third person honored as the Pantagraph’s person of the year. Amidst all the business, government and educational leaders locally, why was this laborer honored?
John was honored because there are two words that define him well: community and family.
When I reflect on John, I see a very generous and humble spirit, willing to try new endeavors. As a newly elected leader in the 1970s he had ambitious ideas and heard the familiar refrain, “We tried that before and it didn’t work.” That never stopped John. The Labor Day Parade was revived in 1977; the Union News was launched, and local labor got involved in non-profits, politics and local government.
He looked at community boards and asked, “Where was labor’s seat at the table?” With his fellow laborers the late Ronn Morehead, the late David Penn, Tom Whalen and involved rank-and-file members, those seats were claimed. Business leaders traditionally filled most boards. Business and labor were not supposed to get along. The two sides worked through those divides and realized the community gained through cooperation.
Laborers Local 362 broke a labor rule – it joined the business-centric McLean County Chamber of Commerce. When it came to the community’s well-being, 90% of the time there was agreement. John encouraged both sides to look beyond the disagreeable ten percent and work together on the 90%.
John involved the average member. A Laborer’s career is hard, physical work, bolstered by pride in skills and accomplishment. The union could not write huge donation checks but members could donate their construction skills, saving local non-profits thousands. The members responded because John and his late father Paul were always the first ones to grab a shovel. The camaraderie that grew through this built a local union that was ever ready and proud to aid local charities.
To John, family was more than blood. It was the fellow worker, the low-income, anyone in McLean County in need. His responsible leadership meant always stepping up when the call came.
Finally, there is John’s self-effacing good humor. When conflict brews, John’s first attempt is always to lighten the situation. In that moment he then tries to broach the division and redirect the conversation positively.
Since 1981, 112 were inducted into the Union Hall of Honor. There were only two from McLean County and three LIUNA members from Illinois in the Hall. Three or four are honored annually and John Penn’s name quickly was approved this year. This is testament to John’s vision, his commitment to his members, but most especially, his union vision that was transformative for McLean County labor relations.
Mike Matejka lives in Normal and is a Laborers Local 362 retiree.