Story last updated at 11:27 AM on Friday, August 19, 2005
Labor of love
Leader reflects on union career
By David Tanner
The Examiner
There's no pretension here.
Querry has for the better part of three decades managed the business affairs of the Local No. 53 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
He is all about the working family and he leads by example.
"It's been hard-fought and bittersweet sometimes," he said, "but we've been relatively successful."
Querry has retired from his business-manager's post, moving on to become an international organizer with the union. His new job took effect at the end of July.
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Since 1975, Querry has been part of every negotiating team for the city of Independence's electrical workers.
An hour with Querry is a basic history lesson about the last 30 years of the labor movement.
His career in the electrical industry started in 1957, when he went to work for Missouri Public Service. He lived in Grandview for a few years before moving to Lee's Summit.
Querry got involved in the Local No. 53 in 1975 as a business associate. With city employees on its roster, the union went to the negotiating table in 1978 to get a better contract in Independence.
But the negotiation did not go well, Querry said. By that time he had taken over for Bill James as business manager, holding firm on the union's demands. But the city wasn't in a mood to budge either.
"In two weeks the city replaced 150 people," he said. "The city had housing for them. They were waiting and ready to go."
A strike was imminent, he said. The local walked out in September 1978 and remained on strike until the fall of 1985.
"During that time I decided we needed another avenue," Querry said. "That's when we got into politics."
Querry and the union put funds behind several candidates in the strike era, including John Carnes, Bill Baker, Millie Nesbitt and others who eventually ratified a new work agreement.
"The end result was anybody involved in the work dispute could return to work in full," Querry said.
In the 2004 city elections, Querry put upwards of $60,000 behind City Council candidates Renee Paluka-White, Jim Page and Will Swoffer, who were all elected.
"My biological mother and father raised me to the age of 18, but Keith and Sandra Querry have gave me my adult life and made me what I am today," Paluka-White said Monday following a City Council resolution to recognize Querry's career and accomplishments.
Council Member Don Reimal, who narrowly defeated IBEW-backed candidate John Hedden in 2004, also had good things to say.
"We haven't always seen eye to eye," he said, "But at least we communicate."
Negotiating a better position for the labor front has been Querry's specialty.
"Most negotiations happen on time and without labor disputes. The most recent work agreement with the city is a prime example, he said. The union and the city compromised on several things, but overall the agreement is good, he said.
"The most difficult thing in Independence is having to organize the dispatchers," Querry said. But it happened this year after four years of attempts.
In negotiating, bygones have to be bygones," Querry says.
"I have never had animosity towards another human being," he said. "The name of the game is looking that fellow across the table in the eye and standing up for what you believe."
Querry has had a career without regret.
"I'm convinced there was a guiding hand," he said.
That guiding hand landed him a seat on the international union's executive council, where he was one of nine people handling policy decisions for the union's 750,000 workers.
"I would have done it all over again," he said.
Querry grew up from age 3 to 13 in Independence, attending Bryant Elementary. His family moved to Buckner, and he graduated from Fort Osage High School.
Keith and his wife Sandy were married Oct. 1, 1960, and are ready to celebrate 45 years. They have two daughters, three grandchildren and two step-grandchildren.
His other family, the Local No. 53, has grown from 1,400 members in the mid-70s to about 2,100 today.
"Nobody has success by themselves," Querry said.
The Independence City Council honored Querry last Monday with a resolution for his 48 years in the electrical industry.
About 400 union members and guests organized a reception for Querry last Saturday at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center.
"It was special," he said. "People came in from Washington state, Florida, Boston, Texas. Everywhere."
In retirement, Querry is building a "country home" in Independence.
"We've got a few acres," he said. "We're going to raise a few horses for a hobby and maybe some income."
He said he won't be far from local politics, but he doesn't yet know his role.
"We'll see," he said, pausing and then raising his eyebrows. "We'll see."
To reach David Tanner e-mail david.tanner@examiner.net.
or call (816) 350-6324.
