Winpisinger Center Director and Educator, Chris Wagoner.
IAM Mourns Loss of Retired Winpisinger Center Director Chris Wagoner
Machinists District 141
15 November 2022
The IAM is mourning the passing of Chris Wagoner, who recently retired as Director of the IAM’s William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center. Wagoner, 60, with his family by his side, passed away after a brief illness on Sunday, November 20, 2022.
Over his 33-year IAM career, Wagoner dedicated his life to training and educating union activists at the Winpisinger Center, a campus in Hollywood, MD that many call the IAM’s “crown jewel.”
After hiring on as an education representative at the Winpisinger Center in 1989, Wagoner became the center’s assistant director in 2005. He served as director since 2007. Wagoner retired from the IAM in July 2022.
“The entire IAM is simply heartbroken at the loss of such an iconic, caring and influential figure in our union,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “Chris has been a great friend and confidant to myself and so many others through more than three decades of challenges and triumphs in the IAM. Our memories of Chris’s unyielding love for our union and our membership will forever live on for so many whom he touched throughout the years. We send our deepest condolences to his wife Jill, daughter Mollie, daughter-in-law Qifei Zeng, and everyone who loved and cherished what Chris brought to our lives on and off the job.”
Wagoner was a constant figure at the Winpisinger Center, where thousands of members, officers, and staff every year participated in leadership, organizing, negotiations, and other programs that built power and knowledge in the IAM. Wagoner would make a point to visit with every class he could, sharing, among many things, that the Winpisinger Center, and the labor movement, must be an inclusive, diverse and welcoming environment, free of any bias or discrimination for all.
“Wimpy’s vision created the Winpisinger Center, but no single person gave it more life and purpose than Chris Wagoner,” said Winpisinger Center Director Mary McHugh. “His contribution to our union is simply immeasurable.”
Wagoner oversaw a massive expansion in programming at the Winpisinger Center, including negotiations preparation, remote learning, and Spanish-language classes. He led the Center through the COVID-19 pandemic, adapting quickly to remote learning and fighting tirelessly to rehire Winpisinger Center staff and reopen the facility with necessary precautions.
Prior to coming to the Winpisinger Center, Wagoner worked as an aide for the Committee on Labor and Industry in the Kentucky General Assembly. He also worked in the Labor Education Program and the Illinois Hazardous Waste Worker Training Program at the University of Illinois. Wagoner received his bachelor of science degree in political science from the University of Louisville and his master of arts degree in industrial relations from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.
In lieu of flowers, the Wagoner family asks that donations go to the IAM’s favorite charity, Guide Dogs of America/Tender Loving Canines, in memory of Chris Wagoner.
JetBlue Election Update – Your Questions, Answered
JetBlue Union Vote Update - Your Questions AnsweredOrganizing11 October 2022Now that we filed for an election, what happens next? The National Mediation Board (NMB), the federal agency that handles representation elections in the airline industry, has ordered JetBlue...
IAM / JetBlue Union Vote Update
JetBlue Union Vote UpdateOrganizing5 October 2022Union Vote Update: Timeline and Our Rights As you know, the IAM filed an application with the National Mediation Board (NMB), a federal agency, to conduct a union representation vote on Friday, September 23, 2022. On...
AFL-CIO: Thousands of JetBlue Ground Workers Organizing With Machinists
Photo Credit: Brian Vega, IAMAW District 141 Social and Visual Media Coordinator.AFL-CIO: Thousands of JetBlue Ground Workers Organizing With MachinistsAFL-CIO28 September 2022Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors,...
IAMAW District 141’s 69th Convention: Racking Up Four Years of Union Wins
The achievements celebrated at the event included union victories spanning the full spectrum of airport workplaces, including gate and ticket counters, ramp and ground personnel, janitors, security guards, and instructors. Photos: Brian Vega, IAMAW 141 Communications...
Related News
United Airlines Negotiations Update
United Contract Negotiations Update20 August 2024 Dear Sisters and Brothers, Last week, your IAM District 141 negotiating team and United Airlines management continued contract negotiations for seven different contracts last week in Chicago, Illinois. The District 141...
VOTE! Check Your Registration Status Right Now in Less than Two Minutes
Are you SURE you are registered to vote? Want to make sure before it's too late? Vote.org has got you covered! CLICK RIGHT NOW to see if you are registered.It's time to VOTE UNION! Both parties have made their pitches to American voters, and now it's time for union...
Association Update
Today the TWU-IAM Association has served notice to American Airlines of our intent to commence negotiations on all TWU-IAM Association Collective Bargaining Agreements. July 26, 2024 All Association Members, Today, leaders from American Airlines, Inc. reached out to...
IAM Mourns Loss of Retired Winpisinger Center Director Chris Wagoner
15 November 2022
Chris Wagoner, the longtime Director of the Winpisinger Education and Technology Center, has passed away.
The IAM is mourning the passing of Chris Wagoner, who recently retired as Director of the IAM’s William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center. Wagoner, 60, with his family by his side, passed away after a brief illness on Sunday, November 20, 2022.
Over his 33-year IAM career, Wagoner dedicated his life to training and educating union activists at the Winpisinger Center, a campus in Hollywood, MD that many call the IAM’s “crown jewel.”
After hiring on as an education representative at the Winpisinger Center in 1989, Wagoner became the center’s assistant director in 2005. He served as director since 2007. Wagoner retired from the IAM in July 2022.
“The entire IAM is simply heartbroken at the loss of such an iconic, caring and influential figure in our union,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “Chris has been a great friend and confidant to myself and so many others through more than three decades of challenges and triumphs in the IAM. Our memories of Chris’s unyielding love for our union and our membership will forever live on for so many whom he touched throughout the years. We send our deepest condolences to his wife Jill, daughter Mollie, daughter-in-law Qifei Zeng, and everyone who loved and cherished what Chris brought to our lives on and off the job.”
Wagoner was a constant figure at the Winpisinger Center, where thousands of members, officers and staff every year participated in leadership, organizing, negotiations and other programs that built power and knowledge in the IAM. Wagoner would make a point to visit with every class he could, sharing, among many things, that the Winpisinger Center, and the labor movement, must be an inclusive, diverse and welcoming environment, free of any bias or discrimination for all.
“Wimpy’s vision created the Winpisinger Center, but no single person gave it more life and purpose than Chris Wagoner,” said Winpisinger Center Director Mary McHugh. “His contribution to our union is simply immeasurable.”
Wagoner oversaw a massive expansion in programming at the Winpisinger Center, including negotiations preparation, remote learning, and Spanish-language classes. He led the Center through the COVID-19 pandemic, adapting quickly to remote learning and fighting tirelessly to rehire Winpisinger Center staff and reopen the facility with necessary precautions.
Prior to coming to the Winpisinger Center, Wagoner worked as an aide for the Committee on Labor and Industry in the Kentucky General Assembly. He also worked in the Labor Education Program and the Illinois Hazardous Waste Worker Training Program at the University of Illinois. Wagoner received his bachelor of science degree in political science from the University of Louisville and his master of arts degree in industrial relations from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.
In lieu of flowers, the Wagoner family asks that donations go to the IAM’s favorite charity, Guide Dogs of America/Tender Loving Canines, in memory of Chris Wagoner.
Related News
United Airlines Negotiations Update
United Contract Negotiations Update20 August 2024 Dear Sisters and Brothers, Last week, your IAM District 141 negotiating team and United Airlines management continued contract negotiations for seven different contracts last week in Chicago, Illinois. The District 141...
VOTE! Check Your Registration Status Right Now in Less than Two Minutes
Are you SURE you are registered to vote? Want to make sure before it's too late? Vote.org has got you covered! CLICK RIGHT NOW to see if you are registered.It's time to VOTE UNION! Both parties have made their pitches to American voters, and now it's time for union...
Association Update
Today the TWU-IAM Association has served notice to American Airlines of our intent to commence negotiations on all TWU-IAM Association Collective Bargaining Agreements. July 26, 2024 All Association Members, Today, leaders from American Airlines, Inc. reached out to...