Funeral for 32BJ’s Figueroa planned
Kyle Bragg to follow in union leader’s footsteps after heart attack at age 57
BY BILL PARRY
Union members, activists,
friends and family of Héctor
Figueroa gathered on July
24 at Riverside Church in
Harlem to celebrate his life
and lasting impact on labor,
immigrant justice and social
justice movements in the
United States.
The Jackson Heights
resident, and president of
32BJ SEIU, died suddenly of
a heart attack on July 11. He
was 57 and is survived by his
wife Diedre, and his children
Eric and Elena.
Under the union’s
constitution, Executive
Vice President Kyle Bragg
automatically assumed
leadership of 32BJ as its new
president representing more
than 175,000 property service
workers including window
cleaners, airport workers,
superintendents, doormen,
maintenance workers,
cleaners, porters and security
officers in 11 states.
“We have lost a brother,
a beautiful mind, an
irreplaceable union leader
and a real fighter for justice,”
Bragg said. “Héctor believed
in 32BJ and planted many
seeds during his tenure that
have now blossomed into
the powerful work that the
union will continue in his
legacy. Today we mourn
our leader but we continue
standing strong to fight for
our shared vision for a more
just society.”
Bragg, a member of 32BJ
for more than three decades
who lives in Rosedale with
his wife and three children,
added that under Figueroa’s
presidency, 32BJ grew by
more than 50,000 members
and passed dozens of local
and state policies protecting
and lifting working families
into the middle-class up and
down the East Coast at a time
when the labor movement
across the country has been
in decline.
“It is impossible to
overstate the loss of Héctor
to our SEIU family. Héctor
has made a lasting impact
on the heart and soul of our
union, and he will be sorely
missed,” SEIU President
Mary Kay Henry said.
“Héctor’s leadership made it
possible for janitors, doormen
and women, security officers,
Hector Figueroa and Kyle Bragg . Courtesy of 32BJ
airport workers and so many
other working people across
the U.S. and Puerto Rico to
join together and lift up their
wages and improve their
jobs.”
The union released a
passage from a posthumous
op-ed Figueroa wrote for The
New York Times entitled,
“The Labor Movement Can
Rise Again,” which captured
his personal and principled
concern for working people.
“It’s not too late to rebuild
our movement,” Figueroa
wrote. “If labor wants to
have a real impact, our
movement needs a big and
ambitious plan to organize it.
It is heartbreaking to witness
our movement risk nearirrelevance
when workers
are ready to take action.”
In the aftermath of his
death, tributes to Figueroa
poured in from Democratic
Presidential candidates,
Governor Andrew Cuomo,
Mayor Bill de Blasio and
dozens of local and state
elected officials. State
Senator James Sanders, who
represents the communities
that surround JFK
International Airport, might
have summed up Figueroa’s
legacy best.
“Héctor Figueroa
was the embodiment of a
compassionate leader. A
true hero and a champion
for millions of Americans in
this great country,” Sanders
Jr. said. “He fought for fair
pay, good benefits, and safer
working conditions for union
members; many of which
were in my district. What
made Héctor special was
his willingness to work on
issues outside his union. Not
only did he stand up for all
of his union brothers and
sisters, he worked tirelessly
for the working class. Héctor
genuinely cared for all
working people.”
At the request of his family
and in lieu of flowers, all
are encouraged to donate in
Figeuroa’s name to two causes
he deeply cared about, The
Sunrise Movement, a youth
climate change organization,
and United We Dream, an
immigration advocacy group.
Reach reporter Bill
Parry by email at bparry@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone
at (718) 260–4538.
TIMESLEDGER, J TIMESLEDGER.COM ULY 26-AUG. 1, 2019 3
/schnepsmedia.com
/TIMESLEDGER.COM
