Peter Merideth
Template:TOCnestleft Peter Meredith is a St. Louis Missouri activist.
Working with WES
March 2016 St. Louis Workers’ Education Society (WES) has expanded its staff with the hiring of Al Neal to help explain labor issues and rights to non-union workers enrolled in the Painters District Council 58’s Advanced Skills Workforce Center.
Neal, the former ‘Fight for $15’ midwest coordinator and SEIU union representative, will become the WES Director of Advocacy and Education, a new position.
He will teach the new painter recruits about labor relations and collective bargaining and workplace rights in non-union workplace settings.
Neal not only served as an organizer, campaign director, union representative, educator and chief negotiator, he also has an educational background in labor history, labor relations, and alternative dispute resolutions.
WES also offers a variety of educational courses for union members and activists to include “The History of the Labor Movement” and “Non-traditional Organizing in the 21st Century” taught by WES President Tony Pecinovsky and Secretary-Treasurer Don Giljum. They also provide steward training programs.[1]
As part of WES’s advocacy program, Neal will work with community and labor leaders, as well as legal peers and State Rep. Peter Meredith (D) to confront issues related to unemployment benefits and wage theft.
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.
The awards ceremony was hosted by the Missouri/Kansas People’s World and the St. Louis Workers’ Education Society.
Members of the Service Employees International Union, Healthcare MO/KS; Coalition of Black Trade Unionists-St. Louis Chapter; IUOE local 148; Laborers’ Local 110; Labor Tribune; SMART Local 36; Painters’ District Council 58; Jobs with Justice; Missourians against the Death Penalty; and Show me $15 attended the breakfast along with: State Representative’s : Peter Meredith (D-80th District), Clem Smith (D-85th District), Cora Faith Walker (D-74th District); 9th Ward Alderman Dan Guenther; 15th Ward Alderwoman Megan Green; 20th Ward Committeewoman Wendy Campbell; 8th Ward Committeewoman Annie Rice; 14th Ward Committeewoman Madeline Buthod; and many others. .[2]
2018 Hershel Walker Peace and Justice Awards
St. Louis Democratic Socialists of America, May 13 2018.
Thank you to the St. Louis Workers’ Education Society for a wonderful event at yesterday's Hershel Walker Peace & Justice Breakfast!
And congratulations to Cathy Sherwin, Peter Meredith, Kevin FitzGerald, and the wonderful, brave, & VICTORIOUS striking Christian Care Home workers of SEIU Healthcare Missouri Kansas!
Election support
Peter Meredith was supported in his election campaign by Shuron Jones, Tony Pecinovsky, Paul Fehler, Akeem Shannon, and Annie Rice.
Four Wards Forward
In Feb. 2017, as part of the St. Louis Workers’ Education Society’s Four Wards Forward program Shuron Jones and Niles Zee headed-up the WES Votes program in our service communities, Wards 8, 9, 15 and 20.
In all, the WES Votes program mobilized dozens of volunteers to register over 500 people to vote in these Wards, helping to increase voter turnout for St. Louis’ August primary and the November general election.
In fact, our efforts were so successful that newly elected committee, ward and state rep. leaders recognized WES publicly, crediting us with leading the charge, specifically in low-turnout precincts in Wards 8 and 20.
For example, WES member and State Rep. Peter Meredith (80th District) praised WES’s work on Facebook as the St. Louis Democratic Central Committee celebrated a new record for single month registrations. 8th Ward Committee-people Paul Fehler and Annie Rice, as well as Alderwoman Cara Spencer and Committeewoman Madeline Buthod (14th Ward), also thanked WES for its outstanding voter registration efforts.
Moving forward, WES leader, Shuron Jones, is now heading-up the 2017 WES Votes campaign in Ward 9, where the current Alderman voted against the minimum wage increase. While WES cannot and does not endorse candidates, every registered voter in Ward 9 will know where Ortmann stands when it comes to raising working families out of poverty.[3]