JAY FOREMAN

1937 - 2018

FOREMAN JAY HOWELL FOREMAN Jay Howell Foreman, retired Executive Vice President of the 1.3 million member United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, died September 2, 2018 from Alzheimer's disease. Foreman's career spanned both public service and union leadership. He joined the labor movement in 1966 as Assistant to the General Counsel, Retail Clerks International Asso. In 1968 he was named Special Counsel to RCIA's President and elected a Vice President in 1977. Highly regarded as one of the labor movement's most thoughtful strategists, Foreman played a critical role in the 1979 merger with Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen Union that created the UFCW. Named Executive Assistant to the President of the new UFCW, he was elected to four terms as an Executive Vice President, serving as chief operating officer for 16 years. Foreman was instrumental in instituting progressive hiring policies and diversifying the union's leadership ranks, especially for women. He was a Trustee of the UFCW Retirement Plan for Employees and developed new approaches for pension investments. In testament to the high regard in which his knowledge and skills were held, Jay served on a long list of government, labor and public service panels. He took special pride in his decade of service as a director and Vice Chair of the U.S. Committee for UNICEF. Upon Jay's retirement, then-UFCW President Douglas Dority noted that Jay's efforts "made UFCW strong at the bargaining table and highly effective in the political arena. Every UFCW member has benefited from his hard work and vision." Jay started on this path as one of thousands of young people drawn to government and politics in the 1950s by California Democratic Clubs, bringing him to the attention of then U.S. Rep. James Roosevelt. In 1963 he named Jay Counsel to the General Labor Subc., Comm. on Education and Labor. His work on legislation to increase the minimum wage, bring women under the Equal Employment Opportunities Act and strengthen federal mine safety laws would shape his career. Born in Chicago July 24, 1937, he grew up in Los Angeles. He earned a B.A. in political science from UCLA in 1959, graduated from Harvard Law School, and was admitted to the DC Bar in 1965. He served in the National Guard and Air Force Reserve. Jay is survived by his wife of 54 years, Carol Lee Tucker-Foreman of Chevy Chase, MD and Bethany Beach, DE; two children, Guy Tucker Foreman (Monica Foreman) of Herndon, VA and Rachel Foreman LaManna (Michael LaManna) of Leesburg, VA; two grandchildren, Lillie Gervais, and Taz Francis Tucker Foreman; and his sister Tari Gibbons of Olympia, Washington, and her two daughters, Randee and Kathi. We will celebrate Jay's life on Sunday, October 21, with two events: an inurnment following the regular 11:15 a.m. service at Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church, One Chevy Chase Circle, Washington, DC., and a reception at Somerset House, 5600 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, MD, from 4 to 6 p.m. Remembrances can be made to Doctors Without Borders or US Against Alzheimer's.