Jay Ozier

Jay Ozier

Jay Ozier is a Missouri activist.

Endorsing Communist Party call

The Communist Party USA paper People's Weekly World issued a statement to mark Labor Day 1995, entitled "We honor the dead and fight like hell for the living."

Of the more than 100 endorsers listed, almost all were identified members of the Communist Party USA.

Jay Ozier, Carpenters/Democratic Party committeeman St Louis Missouri, was on the list.

Friends of the Peoples Weekly World

The Communist Party USA's Peoples Weekly World 1997 May Day Supplement listed several St. Louis Friends of the Peoples Weekly World. they were Lew Moye, Melanie Shouse, Jay Ozier, Zenobia Thompson, E. E. W. Clay, Luther Mitchell, Susan Davis, Jim Wilkerson, John Pappademos, Nafisa Kabir, William (Red) Davis.

Local politics

When St Louis Communist Party USA aligned Independent Alderman Kenneth Jones, decided against seeking re-election in 2002 he endorsed Jay Ozier to succeed him. Ozier, was then serving his fourth term as Democratic Party Committeeman for the 22nd ward, was a 25-year member of Carpenters Local 602 and had been a member of Coalition of Black Trade Unionists for 20 years.

Ozier coordinated CBTU’s Workforce Diversity Program to assure that minority and female construction workers participated in the construction of the TWA dome stadium. He also assisted young African-American and women workers in entering various Building and Construction Trades apprenticeship programs.

Jones and Ozier had participated in numerous pickets, boycotts and demonstrations in support of labor unions, workers’ rights and human rights. Both were then supporting the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 50 Justice for Janitors campaign.

CBTU support in 2004

According to a Peoples Weekly World article by Communist Party USA member Tim Wheeler, John L. Bowman Sr., an auto worker active in the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), is "making waves" in his campaign for a second term representing the 70th Legislative District that includes his hometown, Northwoods, in St. Louis County. A tall, genial man, Bowman had just come off night shift at the Chrysler plant when he spoke with the World. He chuckled when asked if he was headed home to get some sleep. 'No,' he replied. 'Sleep can wait.'

In addition to Bowman, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists fielded Fay Davis, an autoworker, and Jay Ozier, a carpenter, for re-election to the Missouri Democratic State Committee in their respective wards.

Communist Party award breakfast

The 2005 Missouri/Kansas Friends of the Peoples Weekly World annual awards breakfast drew more than 130 trade unionists, activists, and religious leaders to the Hershel Walker Peace and Justice Awards Breakfast on April 30. The event, then in its 13th year, honors Hershel Walker, a life-long peace and justice advocate who joined the Young Communist League USA in 1930 and spent the rest of his life in the Communist Party USA. Walker was killed in a car accident in 1990 while on his way to deliver petitions for the campaign to save 4,000 jobs at Chrysler Plant #1 in Fenton, Mo.

2005 award recipients included state Rep. Jeanette Mott Oxford (D-St. Louis), Progressive Vote organizer Margarida Jorge, and the registered nurses of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 655.

The keynote speaker was Keren Wheeler, editor of Dynamic, the YCL magazine, and the event included remarks from Student Worker Alliance member Danielle Christmas. The SWA had recently won a living wage for Washington University campus service staff after a 19-day sit-in. Christmas thankedd the World for its coverage and support. “This truly was a community victory,” she said.

The Missouri Legislature had recently passed HB 539, which eliminates Medicaid services for up to 130,000 state residents.

After receiving her award, Mott Oxford, who opposed the bill, apologized for the Legislature’s action and vowed to do everything in her power to fight implementation of the cuts.

The breakfast also recognized the lifelong contributions of John Pappademos, who had recently celebrated his 55th year in the CPUSA. Pappademos received a standing ovation from the packed union hall. Members of SEIU Local 2000, AFSCME Local 2730, CBTU, and UFCW Local 655 were among those who attended, along with state Rep. John L. Bowman and 22nd Ward Committee members Jay Ozier and Fay Davis. The event raised more than $4,000 for the World’s 2005 fund drive and local activities.

Communist Party award event

The Missouri/Kansas Friends of the People’s Weekly World held their 14th annual Hershel Walker Peace and Justice Awards Breakfast in St. Louis Missouri April 29 2oo6, "educating listeners about Venezuela and raising $3,000 for the PWW fund drive in the process."

Shelby Richardson, a leader of the Illinois district of the Communist Party, was the keynote speaker at the event, which drew over 100 union members, community activists and students. Richardson, who had recently attended the World Social Forum in Caracas, Venezuela, spoke about his experiences there.

Awardees included Joan Suarez, a leader in the St. Louis area Jobs with Justice and chair of their Workers’ Rights Board and Immigrants Rights Action Task Force; PROMO, a Missouri-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights organization; and Quincy Boyd, president of AFSCME Local 2730.

Ward 4 Committeeperson James Clayborne spoke to the attendees about efforts to honor Walker in his ward, where Walker lived until his death. Clayborne said he was working with ward residents to list Hershel Walker and other well-known African American leaders from the city’s north side on a memorial plaque and to rename a street after him.

State Rep. Jeanette Mott Oxford, 22nd Ward Committeepersons Jay Ozier and Fay Davis, Ward 3 Alderwoman Shirley Davis, newly elected school board member Peter Downs and Ward 19 Committeeperson Jesse Todd also attended. .

St. Louis Coalition of Black Trade Unionists

St. Louis Coalition of Black Trade Unionists Executive Board, as of December 2014;

• Mark Esters-President (CWA 6355)
• Lew Moye -President Emeritus (UAW 110)
• Fay Davis -Secretary (UAW 691)
• Harriett Weaver - Asst. Secetary (UFCW 655)
• Mike Ringo -Treasurer (IAM Dist 9 Lodge 1345)
• Yvette Goods -Trustee (IBEW 1)
• Karla May -Trustee (CWA 6300) Mo State Rep. (84th Dist)
• Clem Smith -Trustee (IAM 837A) Mo State Rep. (85th Dist)
• James Ozier -Sgt at Arms (Carpenters 92)

African American Equality Commission

In July 2015, Members of African American Equality Commission Communist Party USA FaceBook group included Jay Ozier.

Closed working group for the African American Equality Commission of the CP USA. This is a space for members of the commission to brainstorm, communicate, and work through ideas between official meetings..

2017 Hershel Walker Peace and Justice Awards

A diverse crowd of 170 gathered at the Painter’s Union District Council 58 hall to honor five labor and community leaders receiving the Hershel Walker ‘Peace and Justice’ Awards Breakfast May 13, 2017.

The annual awards breakfast was commissioned to commemorate the extraordinary life of St. Louis trade unionist and civil rights leader Hershel Walker, who dedicated over 60 years to the labor, peace, and justice movements.

This year’s Hershel Walker ‘Peace and Justice’ awardees were:

Cara Spencer: Alderwoman of the 20th Ward and director of the Consumer Council of Missouri, a non-profit advocating for consumers over corporate profits. Cara has passed the toughest legislation regulating payday lenders in the country and focuses her efforts on vacancy, affordable-housing, and community safety.

Rep. Bruce Franks, Jr.: Democratic representative for the city’s 78th legislative district in the Missouri House of Representatives. He was elected to his first two-year term in November 2016. Bruce is a small-business owner, was appointed Police Community Liaison by the St. Louis police chief, and founded 28 to life, a local youth violence prevention organization.

Richard Von Glahn: Policy director for Missouri Jobs with Justice, Richard first got involved in the labor movement while a student at Washington University-St. Louis by helping to establish the Student Worker Alliance at the university. The students living wage campaign eventually secured over $2 million in salary increases for university support staff.

Ed Finkelstein: Publisher of the St. Louis/Southern Illinois Labor Tribune, one of the few remaining weekly labor newspapers in the country. Ed joined the Labor Tribune when he was 14 years old. After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism in 1959 he served six years as an information officer with the Strategic Air Command in Wyoming and England. In 1970, Ed took over management of the Tribune and restored its aggressiveness and coverage of local and national labor news.

Jay Ozier: President and founding member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists-St Louis Chapter. Jay is a member of the Carpenters Union local 92, and for decades has been a champion for human, labor, and civil rights.

The awards ceremony was hosted by the Missouri/Kansas People’s World and the St. Louis Workers’ Education Society.