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Soutier prepares step down from Labor Council

Saint Louis, Mo. — Bob Soutier, a staple of the Missouri labor movement for decades, will officially surrendered the title of President of the Greater St. Louis Labor Council in March. Soutier’s replacement, Pat White, begins filling Soutier’s shoes on Jan 1.

Soutier served as labor council president since 2005. Before he was tapped for the top post, Soutier served as Secretary-Treasurer for the council, making him one of the most recognizable and formidable voices in the Missouri labor movement.

Mike Louis, newly elected President of the Missouri AFL-CIO and a longtime friend of Soutier’s, credited him with putting the needs of labor as a whole ahead of his own.

Soutier at the 2014 labor holiday party
Soutier at the 2014 labor holiday party

“Bob always put the best interests of workers and labor unions in front of his own,” Louis said. “His dedication to labor was recognized early in his career, which is why he was promoted through the ranks so quickly. He had big shoes to fill and he did an outstanding job. He will be sorely missed.”

Jeff Aboussie, Executive Secretary Treasurer of the St. Louis Building and Construction Trades Council, said Soutier had “no ego” about his work.

“It’s been a pleasure working with Bob on so many issues,” Aboussie said. “When you see someone like him leave there are things that stick out and the thing that sticks out for Bob is that he had no ego, no pride of authorship. For him it as always about the movement and he didn’t care about credit.”

Soutier is resigning to spend more time with his family, but he won’t officially be out of the loop for a few months. Soutier intends to stay on as an advisor on an as-needed basis for the first few months of White’s term. Soutier said he believes White will have no trouble continuing to fight for labor causes.

“Pat is going to do a great job,” Soutier said. “He’s been around the labor movement his whole life and he understands what the labor movement means. He’s young and aggressive and he’s going to be just fine.”

Soutier’s own time on the council was marked occasionally by bitter legislative fights and, for the past few years, an economy struggling to rebound in the wake of a recession.

Soutier said it was important to maintain relationships with both Democrats and Republicans along with anyone else willing to “stand up for workers.”

“It’s been a pleasure working with Bob,” said Democratic minority leader in the House, Rep. Jake Hummel. “He’s always been a valuable and professional voice in the labor movement and his work will be missed.”

“I’m proud of what we’ve done, how we’ve protected and represented workers in all aspects,” Soutier said. “The losses we have are more reflective of the economy in general than things we have done, either management or labor.”