John Calendrillo (center) with members in 1960s.

John Calendrillo, an early DC 37 organizer and a plaintiff in an historic lawsuit that won blue-collar city workers the right to be paid the prevailing wage for their jobs, died May 21. He was 71. Mr. Calendrillo passed away three months after he had a stoke.

“John was a union man through and through and through,” said his wife, JoAnn. A Brooklyn native, Mr. Calendrillo was born June 3, 1932. His father, an upholsterer in the Furniture Workers of America, taught him the value of unionism, Mrs. Calendrillo said.

At 27, seeking stable work in the public sector, he became a Laborer with the city, Mrs. Calendrillo recalled. He helped organize DC 37 in its early years and was a plaintiff in the Kelly v. Beame case, which established the right of blue collar city workers to be paid as much as their counterparts in the private sector.

Mr. Calendrillo served as a sergeant in the Korean War and received a purple heart. He later earned a bachelor’s degree in labor law from Baruch College.

He became a Council Rep in 1972. In 1986, he participated in a major organizing drive that brought Ohio public workers into AFSCME, DC 37’s parent union. He retired in 1992, and later worked as a consultant for Local 983 and Local 1157. His long-time colleagues at DC 37, including Blue Collar Division Director Jose Sierra, Council Rep Wilson A. Fenty, Council Rep David Catala and Local 1157 President Mickey McFarland, spoke warmly of Mr. Calendrillo. They described him as a mentor, a hard-nosed but honest negotiator, and a passionate advocate of rank-and-file members.

“John was a legend to us,” said Mr. Sierra, noting that Mr. Calendrillo trained many DC 37 blue-collar reps and had a gift for inspiring members to become union activists.

“He was a true soldier to the labor movement,” Mr. Fenty said. “He would eat, drink and sleep union. They could call him anytime and anywhere, and he would always be there for the union,” said Mrs. Calendrillo. Mr. Calendrillo’s other survivors include four children and two grandchildren.

— Gregory N. Heires