The Marine veteran and United Steelworkers member spent much of his life fighting for working people.
We are saddened to report that former Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) field coordinator Don Badie passed away on Sunday, August 25. He was 88.
Badie, a lifelong advocate for manufacturing workers and the United Steelworkers (USW) union, began working as a field coordinator for AAM in 2007. Upon his retirement, he moved to Cape Coral, Fla., where he continued his advocacy for AAM as a site coordinator.
“Don was an amazing advocate, colleague, and force for change,” said AAM President Scott Paul. “My deepest condolences to his family. He will be missed by all of us at AAM.”
Badie was born in Chicago on March 30,1936 to a French immigrant father, Pierre dit Lebet Badie, and Chicago native Eleanor Helen Slater. In 1953, at the age of 17, Badie entered active service with the United States Marine Corps, serving in the Korean War.
Soon after leaving the Marine Corps, Badie went to work for the ACME Steel Mill in Chicago, where he operated an electric furnace. Badie began his work in labor with the USW at ACME, a passion he carried throughout his life.
Blue Wilson, a fellow AAM site coordinator in Michigan, also served as a Marine and later as operator of an electric furnace at McLouth Steel in Detroit. He recalled the many wonderful conversations he had with Badie about steelmaking, the Marines, and manufacturing policy.
“Don was a good friend. We always had great conversations, and it was always about the betterment for the people,” Wilson said. “He was a very loving man. He was a Marine and it stayed with him.
“He loved his union and loved his SOAR (Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees) group.”
Badie held many positions with the USW, including staff representative. He started his Florida SOAR chapter when he retired.
Badie worked tirelessly to help his local union members so that all Steelworkers would enjoy a better quality of life and a higher standard of living. He worked to elect Members of Congress who would support and pass meaningful legislation for union families.
As a SOAR leader in Florida, Badie served as a driver for Michelle Obama during a 2008 campaign stop by then-Presidential nominee Barack Obama.
“Don loved his cigars, and he loved a good debate about labor policies,” Wilson added. “Labor and working families have a lost a man that made a difference.”
Badie’s ashes will be buried at the Sarasota National Cemetery, a military memorial park in Sarasota, Fla.