Retired steelworker activist remembered as 'unsung hero'

Retired steelworker activist remembered as 'unsung hero'

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John J. Watkins, file, The Times

Skvara, 65, of Valparaiso, who died Feb. 19, was president of an Indiana Chapter of the Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees, also known as SOAR, and also served on the group’s district executive board.

15 hours ago  •  Diane Poulton Times Correspondent

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VALPARAISO | Retired steelworker and local activist Stephen Skvara is being remembered by his peers as an unsung hero who raised his voice for justice.
Skvara, 65, of Valparaiso, who died Feb. 19, was president of an Indiana Chapter of the Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees, also known as SOAR, and also served on the group’s district executive board.

United Steelworkers District 7 Director Jim Robinson issued a statement describing Skvara as being among the union’s unsung heroes during his retirement years “when he raised his loud steelworker’s voice for justice on health care for everyone, retirement security for seniors and fairness to workers who lose their benefits in corporate bankruptcies.”

Robinson said at a 2007 AFL-CIO Presidential Candidates Debate Forum in Chicago, Skvara asked a question which was nationally televised to more than 1 million people. Skvara said, “After 34 years with LTV Steel, I was forced to retire because of a disability. Two years later, LTV filed bankruptcy. Every day of my life, I sit at the kitchen table across from the woman who devoted 36 years of her life to my family and I can’t afford her health care. What’s wrong with America and what will you do to change it?”