Missouri AFL-CIO’s Jake Hummel receives Labor advocacy award from JeffCo Dems

By SHERI GASSAWAY
Assistant Editor

Jake Hummel, president of the Missouri AFL-CIO, has received the Jefferson County Democrats Labor Advocate of the Year award for leading an extraordinary career in representing working class families in Missouri.

Hummel, a third-generation electrician and member of IBEW Local 1, served in the Missouri House and Senate for years and is a founding member of the St. Louis City Labor Legislative Club. He was honored at the Jefferson County Democrats Third Annual Awards Dinner at Taytro’s Bar & Catering in Festus on May 22.

‘HONORED AND HUMBLED’
“I truly appreciate the Democratic Party and Organized Labor, and Organized Labor is one of the legs in the stool of the Democratic Party,” Hummel said. “I’m truly honored and humbled to be recognized tonight.”

Hummel first ran for state representative in District 108 in 2008. In 2012 he was elected House Minority Leader by his fellow house members. In 2014 he was elected secretary-treasurer of the Missouri AFL-CIO and reelected as a state Representative in the newly redrawn 82 District. In 2016, Hummel was elected to the Missouri Senate’s Fourth District.

During his time in office, Hummel was instrumental in working to address Missouri’s critical infrastructure needs and strengthening the focus of growing the state’s economy. He was also a leader in the statewide effort to defeat so-called “right-to-work.”

In 2020, he was elected president of the Missouri AFL-CIO, and under his leadership expanded the St. Louis Building Union Diversity (BUD) program to Kansas City and Springfield through the Missouri Works Initiative. The free six-week program serves as a recruitment tool to encourage more minorities and women to get into the union building trades.

‘FOOD ON THE TABLE’
“Having a union card is the difference between paying for a prescription and putting food on the table,” he said. “Being able to send your kids to college and not have to worry about putting something away for retirement. It’s about being able to retire at the end of your career with dignity.”

In addition to his Labor and political duties, Hummel has been an ever-present member in his community and active in the Boulevard Heights Neighborhood Association, Carondelet Community Betterment Federation, Dutchtown South Community Corporation, and Holly Hills Improvement Association.

A lifelong resident of St. Louis, Hummel graduated from St. Mary’s High School. He lives in the Holly Hills neighborhood with his wife Sarah and their three children Tim, Emma and William.

OTHER HONOREES
Also honored at this year’s awards dinner was State Representative Deb Lavender (D-Manchester), who received the William McKenna Service Award, and Wayne Stanley, longtime Jefferson County Democratic Committee political director, who received a Lifetime Service to Jefferson County award.