Kurt Meyer is a Democratic candidate for Congress from Iowa’s 4th district. Kurt grew up in a union household in northern Mitchell County, Iowa, in the same rural community where he now lives. For more than 40 years, his father worked at the Hormel plant in nearby Austin, Minnesota, a member of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America (since 1979, the United Food and Commercial Workers). As a member of Local P-9, his father went on strike against Hormel in 1985-86.
It some ways, it was history repeating itself. Kurt’s grandfather, a union member, worked at the same Hormel plant for more than 40 years. He participated in the nation’s first “sit-down” strike in Austin in 1933. Many members of Kurt’s extended family, including great-uncles, uncles, and cousins, are or were union members.
Like Kurt, his wife, Paula, is also a fifth-generation Iowan. Her father was a member of the United Packinghouse Workers of America when he worked at the Rath plant in Waterloo in the 1950s. Paula’s mother was an elementary school teacher, first a member of the Iowa State Education Association and later a member of the Minnesota Education Association (now Education Minnesota).
Kurt’s generation, born in the 1950s and 60s, now includes several union households. Kurt’s brother is a police officer in Waterloo, Iowa. He is a long-time member of the police union – the Waterloo Police Protective Association – and served as union president in 2005-06. Another brother’s family now has affordable health insurance available through the National Writers Union, where Kurt’s sister-in-law is a member.
For almost 30 years, Kurt’s office has featured a framed print of Hubert Humphrey with this HHH quote: “The history of the labor movement needs to be taught in every school in this land… America is a living testimonial to what free men and women organized in free democratic trade unions can do to make life better… we ought to be proud of it.”
Given this wisdom, Kurt was especially proud when his daughter’s college education included an internship with the New York Civic Participation Project, an organization that collaborates with labor unions and community organizations to support worker justice and civic empowerment. She worked with SEIU Local 32BJ, AFSCME District Council 37, Unite Here Local 100 (restaurant and cafeteria workers), and Laborers Local 79. Kurt and his daughter regard that particular learning experience as a classic example of Humphrey’s philosophy in action.
Kurt Meyer’s roots are deep – in Iowa, in working class families, and in the labor movement. It’s one reason he’ll do a great job in Congress for Iowa families.
