On Wednesday, May 8, the street in front of the St. Paul Labor Centre will be co-named in honor of labor advocate and former St. Paul Mayor William Mahoney.
The unveiling of the new street signs will take place at a dedication ceremony at 7:30 p.m. A reception will follow at the Labor Centre. It is free and open to the public.
The St. Paul City Council voted unanimously April 10 to co-name the two-block long Main Street, located west of downtown between Old 6th Street and 10th Street, as William Mahoney Street.
'It speaks volumes about the city that we realize how (big a part) history has played in our city and that we're considering this,' said Council member Chris Coleman, who represents the area.
William Mahoney was instrumental in bringing Minnesota's farmers and workers together to form the Farmer-Labor Party in the 1920s. The party later merged with the Democratic Party to form the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party.
Mahoney also was mayor from 1932 to 1934. During his term, he attempted to shed the city's image as the organized crime capital of the Upper Midwest by launching an ill-fated war on crime.
Prior to being elected to office, Mahoney was president of the St. Paul Trades & Labor Assembly and editor of the Union Advocate newspaper. He was a member of Pressman's Local 29 most of his life.
'I think (Mahoney's) greatest contribution was giving working people a sense of the bigger picture, and that they need to be involved politically,' said Barb Kucera, editor of the Workday Minnesota website and former editor of the Union Advocate. 'He really was quite a visionary, really rattled a lot of peoples' cages."
Kucera, current Trades and Labor Assembly president Shar Knutson, labor historian Dave Riehle, Printing Trades Council president Nick Caruso and St. Paul historian Mary Wingerd testified to the City Council in favor of the street co-naming.
The Mahoney Street dedication is part of a series of programs to commemorate May, Labor History Month. View a schedule of the programs
Paul Sand is a student at the University of Minnesota.
Related article
Farmer-Labor movement owes much to Mahoney
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On Wednesday, May 8, the street in front of the St. Paul Labor Centre will be co-named in honor of labor advocate and former St. Paul Mayor William Mahoney.
The unveiling of the new street signs will take place at a dedication ceremony at 7:30 p.m. A reception will follow at the Labor Centre. It is free and open to the public.
The St. Paul City Council voted unanimously April 10 to co-name the two-block long Main Street, located west of downtown between Old 6th Street and 10th Street, as William Mahoney Street.
‘It speaks volumes about the city that we realize how (big a part) history has played in our city and that we’re considering this,’ said Council member Chris Coleman, who represents the area.
William Mahoney was instrumental in bringing Minnesota’s farmers and workers together to form the Farmer-Labor Party in the 1920s. The party later merged with the Democratic Party to form the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party.
Mahoney also was mayor from 1932 to 1934. During his term, he attempted to shed the city’s image as the organized crime capital of the Upper Midwest by launching an ill-fated war on crime.
Prior to being elected to office, Mahoney was president of the St. Paul Trades & Labor Assembly and editor of the Union Advocate newspaper. He was a member of Pressman’s Local 29 most of his life.
‘I think (Mahoney’s) greatest contribution was giving working people a sense of the bigger picture, and that they need to be involved politically,’ said Barb Kucera, editor of the Workday Minnesota website and former editor of the Union Advocate. ‘He really was quite a visionary, really rattled a lot of peoples’ cages.”
Kucera, current Trades and Labor Assembly president Shar Knutson, labor historian Dave Riehle, Printing Trades Council president Nick Caruso and St. Paul historian Mary Wingerd testified to the City Council in favor of the street co-naming.
The Mahoney Street dedication is part of a series of programs to commemorate May, Labor History Month. View a schedule of the programs
Paul Sand is a student at the University of Minnesota.
Related article
Farmer-Labor movement owes much to Mahoney