Longtime Nevada Labor Leader Dies

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/10113646.html

Longtime Nevada labor leader Claude "Blackie" Evans died Friday of apparent heart failure at his home in Henderson.

He was 72.

"He was truly an icon of Nevada's labor movement. He did more for the working guy than anyone I know," said Danny Thompson, who succeeded Evans in 1999 as head of the state AFL-CIO.

Thompson said Evans had been in poor health although he was able
to attend the union's annual convention last month in Reno.

He said Evans was hospitalized on Wednesday but returned home on Thursday.

Evans, a Joplin, Mo., native, started as a laborer at Titanium Metal Corp. in Henderson in the early 1950s.

The former Golden Gloves boxer became active in union affairs and developed a reputation as a tough labor representative.

FULL story at link.