Richard L. Freeman Sr.
Richard Freeman lives in a modest house on a large grassy lot in Melitota, not far from where he was born and grew up. He’s a tall man who is quick to laugh and is always smiling.
Freeman attended Kent County public schools, and by the time he was enrolled at the former Chestertown High School, he was playing lots of sports, especially basketball and soccer. He was a popular student. A look at his yearbook shows that nearly every page is signed by classmates and teachers.
He graduated in 1971, the last class at CHS before the present high school opened in Worton.
After graduating, Freeman went to Chesapeake College, but left to find a job. Attending some union meetings, he liked what he heard and that’s when he became a union man, a member of Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA!), Local 199.
To Freeman, a union job meant that not only would he earn a living that would allow him to support a family, he would also get benefits, such as a pension plan and 100% paid health insurance.
Freeman worked as a laborer for union companies and had steady work. He went to the union hall in Wilmington to get jobs. He advanced to foreman and became a shop steward for the union.
Freeman talked about the importance of unions. He told me, “The union sets standards. The union makes sure people are treated fairly, properly.”
Freeman received his “gold card” in 2021. A gold card indicates union membership for 50 years and means that you no longer have to pay dues. The accompanying certificate thanks Freeman for his “valued support for the goals and purposes” of the union.
In his free time, Freeman was an umpire and referee for high school and parks and recreation basketball, baseball, and softball teams. He officiated up and down the Eastern Shore. In 2022, he won the Dennis Callahan Goodsports Award, in recognition of his “dedication and contributions to youth athletics” presented by the Mid-Atlantic Recreation and Parks Sports Alliance.
Freeman thinks we can do better for the youth in Kent County. He says we need more sports, activities, and trips to supplement the few programs now available to young people through the county.
Freeman describes himself as a good Democrat. To him, that means “showing people that you can sympathize and understand, that you know how to work with all kinds of people.”
To Freeman, being a Democrat has always been important because Democrats understand what working people must go through to get a good job with good wages.
Even though the union movement in the United States has weakened, Freeman says that the country would be in terrible shape without them. The Republicans would close the jobs down.
But there are opportunities for the future. For example, the wind energy industry could provide employment for union workers all over the world.
President Joe Biden is doing a wonderful job and is trying hard, in Freeman’s opinion. And Democrats should get behind him. LiUNA! has already endorsed him for 2024.
Richard Freeman, the Kent County Democratic Club salutes you and thanks you for your contributions to Kent County and for the good, Democratic example you have set.
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Additional information on LiUNA! and Local 199:
LiUNA! has a long history of political activism, especially in the 1960s and 70s. The union was one of the few that sent an African American representative to President John F. Kennedy’s conference to end racial discrimination in unions in 1962. Then, LiUNA! pledged support for President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. In 1963, LiUNA! members marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Today, LiUNA! supports voting rights through its political activism to “protect and strengthen the integrity of our democracy.”
LiUNA! currently has 500,000 members in North America. There are 400 local unions, of which Local 199 is one. Locals are responsible for enforcing collective bargaining rights and legal rights, assisting members in finding jobs through hiring halls and referral services, and providing apprenticeships and training programs. Seventy-five percent of Local 199 members are African American.
LiUNA! workers were celebrated recently for rebuilding the I-95 bridge in Philadelphia in 12 days.