With Great Sadness, NASHTU Announces the Passing of Mary J. Richards
Mary J. Richards, one of the union leaders that was instrumental in the creation of NASHTU, passed away on September 2, 2024.
Known affectionately as “Mary, Mother of NASHTU,” Mary was there at the very beginning of NASHTU. In the summer of 1999, as president of the Massachusetts Organization of State Engineers and Scientists (MOSES), Mary came to Chicago to meet with representatives from other public sector transportation employee unions from every part of the country. By the time they left, they had created a coalition and committed to each other to fight wasteful outsourcing, protect workers on the job, and advocate for the safe and cost-effective delivery of projects for taxpayers.
Out of that first meeting, NASHTU has grown to represent 38 unions in 20 states and Washington, D.C., representing hundreds of thousands of department of transportation employees nationwide. Mary was a vocal and constant presence at the annual NASHTU conferences in Washington D.C., including the latest NASHTU conference in June 2024.
Mary had a 20-year career in public service, working for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) in the Wetland & Waterways Section Chief, Right-to-Know Division. She served as an Environmental Analyst, Section Chief, and Project Manager for various MassDEP programs.
During her tenure at MassDEP, Mary became active in MOSES, first as a union member and eventually rising through the leadership ranks to become the first woman president of the organization. MOSES represents 4,000 professional and technical state employees working in public safety, transportation, environmental protection, public health, forensic science, occupational health and safety, and wage enforcement.
Mary was a trailblazer, a visionary, and a fighter for working families. She will be deeply missed.
To read Mary’s obituary – including the option of sending flowers in her memory – please click here.