Washington-Greene Central Labor Council honors union leaders
Three local labor figures were honored by the Washington-Greene Central Labor Council AFL-CIO in April, recognizing their decades of service to the people of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
UMWA International President Emeritus Cecil Roberts, former PSEA president Mike Crossey and former AFSCME president Larry Markovich were inducted into the Washington-Greene Central Labor Council (WGCLC) Hall of Fame during a breakfast event highlighted by statewide labor and government officials.
Labor council President Donna Patrina said the three honorees were selected for their status as an upstanding member of the community in Washington or Greene counties and positive impact on labor beyond their immediate union.
Roberts stands as one of the most enduring and influential figures in the American labor movement, Patrina said, who served for 30 years as International President of the United Mine Workers of America from 1995 until 2025.
“Under his leadership, major national coal contracts were reopened for the first time in UMWA history, secured improved wage agreements and negotiated historic pension provisions. Roberts fought persistently for miner health and retirement security,” she said in a statement.
Crossey translated his more than three decades of experience as a classroom teacher into a 20-year tenure at the head of the state’s largest educators union, overseeing five major contract negotiations during his time at the Pennsylvania State Education Association.
Markovich, who was honored posthumously, began his career at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in 1973, earning election to the presidency of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2106 from 1976 to 1983.
“Markovich fought for fairness on the job, successfully negotiating portal to portal pay, ensuring employees were compensated for the full scope of their job,” Patrina said.
Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Angela Ferritto delivered the keynote address following a surprise appearance from Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, who spoke about his experience growing up as the son of a union bus driver in the Pittsburgh region.
“I saw firsthand the benefits of a good union job and what that can do for a family,” Davis said. “My own experience drives me to stand with working people – whether that’s in the state Capitol in Harrisburg or on a picket line in Erie.”
Davis said that he, alongside Gov. Josh Shapiro, is committed to investing in Pennsylvania’s workforce and defending workers’ rights across the commonwealth.
“Pennsylvania’s union workers are the best in the country — and I want you to know Josh Shapiro and I have your backs,” he said.