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Irwin, State Assembly Honor Labor Leader Lacayo

(Sacramento) – Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) and the State Assembly adjourned the May 4, 2017 floor session in the memory of Henry “Hank” Lacayo, a personal mentor of Assemblymember Irwin and lifelong public servant who passed away on May 2 at the age of 85 after a long battle with throat cancer. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, Lacayo began organizing for the United Auto Workers in the 1950s. He rose up the ranks and joined UAW’s executive team, becoming the first Hispanic to serve as a political director of a national union. “By the end of his career, Hank had personally counseled Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Carter and Clinton, marched with Cesar Chavez and stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial when Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech,” said Assemblymember Irwin.  “He touched many lives and helped chart the futures of countless others, including my own.” Here’s more in this Assembly Access video.