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Ken Sharp, Retired District 4 Staffer, Dead at 61
E. Kenneth Sharp, who retired in 1999 as administrative assistant to the vice president in District 4, died Jan. 13. He was 61.
Sharp spent nearly 30 years with CWA after starting his career with the Wisconsin Telephone Co. in Eau Claire in 1961. He worked as a station installer, then a central office repairman.
In 1964, Sharp was elected president of CWA Local 5540, serving five years. During his term, he was also vice president of the Eau Claire Area Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.
CWA hired Sharp as a staff representative in 1969, working in Wisconsin and Indiana. Between 1972 and 1977, he worked as the administrative assistant to the vice president of then-District 5, served as area director for Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin and served as Indiana director.
In Indiana, Sharp was elected chairman of the state’s labor coalition. He coordinated the Indiana labor campaign for Jimmy Carter and was a delegate to the 1976 Democratic Convention.
In 1977, Sharp was named assistant to District 5 Vice President W.C. Button. From May 1986 until his retirement on April 1, 1999, he served as administrative assistant to Jeff Rechenbach, vice president of CWA District 4.
“Ken was a dedicated trade unionist who had a lifelong commitment to CWA,” Rechenbach said. “He played a major role in helping to unify the former CWA Districts 4 and 5 when they merged in 1986. Ken also was a leading advocate of using information technology to make CWA more effective and responsive to our members.”
Sharp served in the U.S. Air Force for four years immediately after high school. He was assigned to Walker Air Force Base in Roswell, N.M., where he worked on electronic countermeasures.
Sharp is survived by his wife, Kathleen, his children, Brenton and Denice, and five grandchildren.
Sharp spent nearly 30 years with CWA after starting his career with the Wisconsin Telephone Co. in Eau Claire in 1961. He worked as a station installer, then a central office repairman.
In 1964, Sharp was elected president of CWA Local 5540, serving five years. During his term, he was also vice president of the Eau Claire Area Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.
CWA hired Sharp as a staff representative in 1969, working in Wisconsin and Indiana. Between 1972 and 1977, he worked as the administrative assistant to the vice president of then-District 5, served as area director for Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin and served as Indiana director.
In Indiana, Sharp was elected chairman of the state’s labor coalition. He coordinated the Indiana labor campaign for Jimmy Carter and was a delegate to the 1976 Democratic Convention.
In 1977, Sharp was named assistant to District 5 Vice President W.C. Button. From May 1986 until his retirement on April 1, 1999, he served as administrative assistant to Jeff Rechenbach, vice president of CWA District 4.
“Ken was a dedicated trade unionist who had a lifelong commitment to CWA,” Rechenbach said. “He played a major role in helping to unify the former CWA Districts 4 and 5 when they merged in 1986. Ken also was a leading advocate of using information technology to make CWA more effective and responsive to our members.”
Sharp served in the U.S. Air Force for four years immediately after high school. He was assigned to Walker Air Force Base in Roswell, N.M., where he worked on electronic countermeasures.
Sharp is survived by his wife, Kathleen, his children, Brenton and Denice, and five grandchildren.