Individual Details
Darwin Hugh Aycock
(10 Jan 1928 - 16 Nov 2001)
The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, Arizona, Wednesday, November 21, 2001: Aycock, 'Voice of Labor' in state, dies. Darwin Aycock, secretary-treasurer of the state AFL-CIO for 20 years and a former Marine who served in World War II and the Korean War, died Nov. 16 at Veterans Hospital in Phoenix after a two-month battle with leukemia. He was 73.
Aycock is best known for his tenure as head of the state AFL-CIO, the umbrella organization for Arizona unions. He served as the state's top labor advocate until he retired in 1987. He held the post in an era of strong anti-union sentiments by state leaders and the state Legislature. But he was able to earn respect from friends and foes.
"He was the voice of labor in Arizona for many years," recalled Horace Bounds, president emeritus of the state AFL-CIO and former business manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 570 in Tucson. "He was in office when it was a continuous struggle to get rid of the right-to-work law." He supported strikes ranging from Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers facing off against lettuce growers to copper miners striking against Phelps Dodge Corp. in Morenci-Clifton and Ajo in the 1980s.
Heading the political arm of unions in the state, Aycock dealt with politicians from mayors and governors to presidents. But he never forgot his blue-collar roots and his modest upbringing in Phoenix. Born in Lamesa, Texas, in 1928, his family moved to Phoenix when he was 3 months old. At age 15 he became an apprentice stereotyper for The Arizona Republic.
"Working for the benefit of working people was something he was devoted to," recalled one of his daughters, Debbie McCormick. "In his last days, he was even trying to get the nurses in the hospital to organize and join the union."
He was especially proud of his military service, she recalled. He joined the Marines in 1945 at the tail end of World War II and served in China. After being discharged in 1949, he continued to serve in the Marine Reserves and was recalled to active duty for the Korean War. He was part of the Inchon Landing and fought his way out of the infamous Chosin Reservoir. After the war, he returned to the stereotyping trade, working for newspapers in Los Angeles, Tucson and Phoenix. He was at the Phoenix Gazette when he became active in union affairs.
He served in several posts for the Phoenix Stereotypers Union Local 151 and was selected as a representative to the Phoenix-Maricopa County Central Labor Council. In 1962, he became director of the state AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education. In 1968, he became the youngest person ever elected as secretary-treasurer of the state AFL-CIO, a post he held for 10 consecutive terms. In 1968 and 1984 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
"He reached out to women, treated them as equals and opened doors for them when nobody else was doing that," recalled Grace Carroll, the first woman to serve on the state AFL-CIO's executive board in the early 1970s and a colleague and friend of Aycock's. "He did that for me and other women when it wasn't fashionable to do that." She also recalled his desire to help the "little guy." "He was a mover and shaker and you don't always make friends that way," she said. "But he spoke out for the little guy and it bothered employers and conservatives in this state. He was quite outspoken, but you always knew where he stood."
He is survived by his wife, Roseanne, daughters Sherry Waite of Springfield, Ore., Debbie McCormick of Phoenix, and Lori Aycock of Los Angeles; and son Gary Aycock of Honolulu. He also had six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. A celebration of his life will be held Sunday in Phoenix from 2 to 6 p.m. at the IBEW Local 640 Hall, 5808 N. Seventh St. The family requests that donations go to the Leukemia Foundation of Arizona, 3415 S. McClintock Drive, P.O. Box 111-825, Tempe, AZ 85282-5813.
Aycock is best known for his tenure as head of the state AFL-CIO, the umbrella organization for Arizona unions. He served as the state's top labor advocate until he retired in 1987. He held the post in an era of strong anti-union sentiments by state leaders and the state Legislature. But he was able to earn respect from friends and foes.
"He was the voice of labor in Arizona for many years," recalled Horace Bounds, president emeritus of the state AFL-CIO and former business manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 570 in Tucson. "He was in office when it was a continuous struggle to get rid of the right-to-work law." He supported strikes ranging from Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers facing off against lettuce growers to copper miners striking against Phelps Dodge Corp. in Morenci-Clifton and Ajo in the 1980s.
Heading the political arm of unions in the state, Aycock dealt with politicians from mayors and governors to presidents. But he never forgot his blue-collar roots and his modest upbringing in Phoenix. Born in Lamesa, Texas, in 1928, his family moved to Phoenix when he was 3 months old. At age 15 he became an apprentice stereotyper for The Arizona Republic.
"Working for the benefit of working people was something he was devoted to," recalled one of his daughters, Debbie McCormick. "In his last days, he was even trying to get the nurses in the hospital to organize and join the union."
He was especially proud of his military service, she recalled. He joined the Marines in 1945 at the tail end of World War II and served in China. After being discharged in 1949, he continued to serve in the Marine Reserves and was recalled to active duty for the Korean War. He was part of the Inchon Landing and fought his way out of the infamous Chosin Reservoir. After the war, he returned to the stereotyping trade, working for newspapers in Los Angeles, Tucson and Phoenix. He was at the Phoenix Gazette when he became active in union affairs.
He served in several posts for the Phoenix Stereotypers Union Local 151 and was selected as a representative to the Phoenix-Maricopa County Central Labor Council. In 1962, he became director of the state AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education. In 1968, he became the youngest person ever elected as secretary-treasurer of the state AFL-CIO, a post he held for 10 consecutive terms. In 1968 and 1984 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
"He reached out to women, treated them as equals and opened doors for them when nobody else was doing that," recalled Grace Carroll, the first woman to serve on the state AFL-CIO's executive board in the early 1970s and a colleague and friend of Aycock's. "He did that for me and other women when it wasn't fashionable to do that." She also recalled his desire to help the "little guy." "He was a mover and shaker and you don't always make friends that way," she said. "But he spoke out for the little guy and it bothered employers and conservatives in this state. He was quite outspoken, but you always knew where he stood."
He is survived by his wife, Roseanne, daughters Sherry Waite of Springfield, Ore., Debbie McCormick of Phoenix, and Lori Aycock of Los Angeles; and son Gary Aycock of Honolulu. He also had six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. A celebration of his life will be held Sunday in Phoenix from 2 to 6 p.m. at the IBEW Local 640 Hall, 5808 N. Seventh St. The family requests that donations go to the Leukemia Foundation of Arizona, 3415 S. McClintock Drive, P.O. Box 111-825, Tempe, AZ 85282-5813.
Events
| Birth | 10 Jan 1928 | Lamesa, Dawson Co., Texas |  | ||
| Death | 16 Nov 2001 | Phoenix, Maricopa Co., Arizona | | ||
| Race | White | |
Families
| Spouse | Rosanne ??? ( - ) |
| Child | Sherry Aycock ( - ) |
| Child | Debbie Aycock ( - ) |
| Child | Lori Aycock ( - ) |
| Child | Gary Aycock ( - ) |
| Father | Roy Frederick Aycock (1897 - 1966) |
| Mother | Jimmye Lorena Tennyson (1901 - 1988) |
| Sibling | Wayne Aycock ( - 2012) |
| Sibling | Quentin Aycock ( - 2012) |
| Sibling | Roger Aycock ( - 2012) |
| Sibling | Ermine Emmie Aycock (1925 - ) |
| Sibling | Roy Frederick Aycock Jr. (1926 - 2012) |
| Sibling | James Wendell Aycock (1929 - 1929) |
| Sibling | Bobby Glen Aycock (1930 - 2015) |
| Sibling | Frances Aycock (1932 - 1974) |