G. Johnny Parks served his union and community for many decades.
G. Johnny Parks died on November 27, 2010 after a distinguished life of service to his union, nation and community.
Parks was born on January 31, 1922 and raised in Oregon’s rough-and-tumble lumber camps during the Great Depression. He joined the Navy in 1940 where he survived the bombing of Pearl Harbor plus the battles of Midway, Guadalcanal, Wake, Tarawa, Truk and the Philippines – receiving eight Bronze Stars for his service.
Parks joined ILWU Local 8 in 1946 where he was elected by co-workers to a host of important ILWU leader- ship positions before retiring in 1985. After providing leadership in the 1948 longshore strike, Parks was elected to a different post almost every year during the next two decades, including Business Agent, Labor Relations Committee, Lobbyist, and President of Local 8.
Apart from his service at Local 8, Parks served in a variety of ILWU International positions, and missed only one Convention and Longshore Caucus between 1957-1977.
Parks’ high school diploma and ILWU credentials equipped him to serve in other important posts includ- ing the Board of Directors at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Portland Branch, Vice President of the Pacific Northwest Labor College, and a Director at both the Washington State and Pacific Rim Trade Associations. He also served on the Portland City Planning Commission, Port Commission and was appointed to both state and federal economic development posts.
In 1977, Parks ran for ILWU International President but was defeated by Jimmy Herman. His campaign statement at the time read as follows:
“I belong to no other organizations except the ILWU, and have never for over 30 years had any other source of income except that for which I earned under an ILWU contract, or that which I earned working for the union.”
Longtime friend and fellow Local 8 member, Norm Parks (no relation) remembers that Johnny had a good sense of humor and was always fun to be around. “I first met him when I was in the 5th grade, and when I started working on the docks at 17 years old, I used to call him ‘gramps.’ I talked to Johnny this past summer and was taken with the fact that he still visited his wife Marcy everyday at a local nursing home where she was living because of Alzheimer’s. Johnny gave a lot to our union and community – we’ll miss him a lot.”