Skip to main content

NEWS BRIEFS

Date Posted: October 17 2003

Painters' Cardwell dies in accident 
B.J. Cardwell, general president's representative for the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, died Oct. 3, 2003 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident in Kansas.

Mr. Cardwell, 45, hailed from Painters Local 514 in Ann Arbor. He had been a business representative for the local and for Painters District Council 22 for several years when he was appointed to a position with the International Union in April 2000. His primary duty was organizing in the South and West - among the most difficult areas in the country to do that kind of work.

"B.J. was as dedicated to his job as anybody I know," said Painters International Union General President James Williams. "He'd spend two or three nights at a time in a city, and about 200 days a year away from home. People don't realize how much time his job took him away from his family. But he always took on the tough assignments, and he never complained."

District Council 22 Secretary-Treasurer Bob Kennedy agreed that hard work was B.J.'s trademark. "I think early on after he became a business agent that he had aspirations for going to the international union," Kennedy said. "He was suited for that kind of work. He worked hard, but he also had a lot of fun, and he was a good man."

Mr. Cardwell is survived by his wife Shelly and two daughters.

When we interviewed him 18 months ago about his organizing work, Cardwell said, "people in Michigan have no idea how good they have it." He was referring to the inherent difficulties of trying to set up union wage scales in areas that are openly hostile to unions.

Williams said B.J. was outgoing and was often the center of attention among the people he was trying to organize. "I will miss him," Williams said. "B.J. was a good person, and he certainly lived life to the fullest."

Monument's masons find box of muck
When last we checked on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Detroit, masons working on the project had most of the granite stones moved and were reporting that there was nothing buried underneath.

The monument, built to commemorate Civil War soldiers and sailors, is being relocated about 150 feet as part of the Campus Martius project.

But as we went to press, there were a few stones left unturned, and on Oct 1, masons found a 10-by-12 inch copper box sealed inside a block of granite. The box was stamped "July 4, 1867." Unfortunately, water and muck had infiltrated the box and pretty much destroyed the paper contents, although some metal medallions survived.

Levis shuts last N. American plants
Levi-Strauss Co., an American icon for 150 years, said last month that it will close its last four North American manufacturing plants in U.S. and Canada, in favor of off-shore facilities. The company will cut 1,980 North American jobs, on top of 4,200 jobs that were eliminated worldwide last year, when eight plants were closed.