Public Employee Press

Local 1320 mourns a dedicated unionist

DC 37 and New York City Sewage Treatment and Senior Sewage Treatment Workers Local 1320 bid a sad goodbye to Cornell Joseph Heyward, 40, a dedicated unionist, local executive board member, father and friend, who died Dec. 9, 2014.

"Cornell was always an activist," said Local 1320 President Jim Tucciarelli. "He was a key player in our struggle to gain a prevailing wage, helping to gather information to make our case before the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, attending hearings every day to keep us informed and supporting our struggle."

Nicknamed the Fox, Heyward joined the Dept. of Environmental Protection in 1999 after an internship. In 2002, he became a Sewage Treatment Worker and was later promoted to Senior Sewage Treatment Worker at the North River plant in Harlem.

A proud union member, Heyward was an advocate for his coworkers, pressing for safety and dignity on the job and defending hard-won union rights and protections. Heyward became a shop steward at the 26th Ward plant and worked to build bridges and friendships on the job, in the labor movement and in his community. He served on the Local 1320 executive board for six years until his untimely death.

Heyward lived a very active life as a son, brother, the husband of Donnette, and the father of their two sons, Chase and Kai. He volunteered in his Brooklyn community coaching little league football teams - the New York Warriors and the War Chiefs - for 10 years. Heyward was a motorcycle enthusiast, riding with the Silverback Gorillas motorcycle club, and loved music, travel and his extended family of close relatives and friends.

"Cornell's personality and ability to solve problems was an asset to the local," Tucciarelli said. "He was always looking out for his brothers and sisters in Local 1320. We truly lost a brother and a friend."

— DSW