William E. Brennan was president of the 70,000 member Nebraska AFL-CIO from 1972 until his sudden death in 1979.
After World War II duty as a B-24 pilot, he attended Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, and Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. He left Creighton before graduation, saying he found elevator construction work more interesting than finishing college.
He joined the Elevator Constructors Union in 1948. He became a business representative of Local 28 in 1965. He was a lobbyist for the Nebraska State Legislature before he was elected as a Nebraska State Senator to represent Omaha's 9th District in 1977. He was expected to run for a second term.
In the legislature, Brennan specialized in labor legislation. He said, "Most of the legislation that labor advocates is geared to working people — all working people, not just union members."
He was critical of the press, saying the biggest problem for labor unions in Nebraska was "the mistrust of unions that the press has encouraged constantly." In a 1978 interview with the Omaha World-Herald, he said, "I worked the whole state 20 years doing construction. People all over the state just hate unions and they don't know why. They just hate them. They were told to."
Fellow State Senator John DeCamp said, "The working people of Nebraska, whether they belonged to labor unions or whether they worked on farms or in executive suites, today lost the best friend, the most compassionate lawmaker anyone could have imaged. ...We often disagreed but despite that, Bill Brennan was the most dignified, the most dedicated...he was the epitome of what organized labor should be in its efforts to improve working conditions for all people."
He was a lifelong Omahan, the son of Dr. William E. Brennan, a dentist who was a standout football end and captain of one of Creighton University's best teams. He and his wife — the former Marilyn Brogan of Vail, Iowa — had eight children: Patrick, Kathleen, Dennis, Mary Clare, Susan, Theresa, Kevin, and Mary Frances.
Brennan was active in the community, as a longtime baseball coach in the Catholic Youth Organization; as a member of the advisory boards for University of Nebraska - Lincoln, University of Nebraska at Omaha, and the Nebraska Employment Security Council; and as a member of the boards of directors of United Community Services in Omaha, the Nebraska Red Cross, the Nebraska Economic Council, and Nebraska U.S. Savings Bonds.
Brennan died at the age of 57 after failing to recover from emergency surgery for an aneurysm on the aorta.
Source: Omaha World-Herald. (August 8, 1979). Brennan Known for Candor, Wit.