Irene Stewart

Irene Stewart

Lou O. Stewart (January 1, 1915 to March 26, 2002) was a prominent labor leader in Washington. Stewart grew up in logging camps and attended 23 different grade schools. Following service in the Army Air Corps during World War II, he was awarded his diploma from Weatherwax High School in Aberdeen, Washington. A journeyman carpenter before and after the war, Stewart entered the University of Washington on the GI Bill in 1950, earning a degree in Industrial Sociology. While attending graduate school, he went to work for Seattle city government, helping to develop the first civil service system in Washington State. In 1960, he helped the territorial government of Guam develop its civil service system.

Stewart joined the staff of the Washington State Labor Council in 1967, and worked there until his retirement in 1982. During that time, Stewart was the Labor Council's chief state lobbyist in Olympia. A lifelong Democrat, he was a delegate to the 1972 national convention. Throughout his career and following retirement, he served on a number of boards and commissions, including the national Public Broadcasting Commission, KCPQ Channel 13, Group Health Cooperative, and the state's Centennial and Marine Employees Commissions.

Upon Stewart's death in 2002, then-State Labor Council President Rick Bender said, "There was no major issue facing the State Legislature in the '70s and '80s that didn't have Lou Stewart's involvement, and he was known on both sides of the aisle for absolute honesty and integrity."