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'''Victor V. Bussie'''(pronounced BEW SEE) (January 27, 1919 – September 4, 2011)<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theadvocate/obituary.aspx?n=victor-bussie&pid=153511546|title=Victor Bussie obituary|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Morning Advocate''|accessdate=September 8, 2011}}</ref> was until his retirement in 1997 the 41-year unopposed president of the [[Louisiana]] AFL-CIO, having first assumed the mantle of union leadership in 1956. Journalists often described him as the most significant non-elected "official" in his state's politics. Bussie's influence with governors and state legislators became so great in the 1970s that a trade association known as the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry was established as a counterbalance to the AFL-CIO. LABI won a huge victory in 1976 with the passage of the state's still-standing [[Right-to-work laws|right-to-work law]].
'''Victor V. Bussie'''(pronounced BEW SEE) (January 27, 1919 – September 4, 2011)<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theadvocate/obituary.aspx?n=victor-bussie&pid=153511546|title=Victor Bussie obituary|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Morning Advocate''|accessdate=September 8, 2011}}</ref> was until his retirement in 1997 the 41-year unopposed president of the [[Louisiana]] AFL-CIO, having first assumed the mantle of union leadership in 1956. Journalists often described him as the most significant non-elected "official" in his state's politics. Bussie's influence with governors and state legislators became so great in the 1970s that a trade association known as the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry was established as a counterbalance to the AFL-CIO. LABI won a huge victory in 1976 with the passage of the state's still-standing [[Right-to-work laws|right-to-work law]].
==Defender of the Longs==
==Defender of the Longs==
Bussie recalled having been born in poverty in the community of Montrose in Natchitoches Parish to Christopher "Chris" Bussie and the former Fannie LaCaze.<ref name=obit/> The senior Bussie was a unionized employee of the Texas Pacific Railroad.<ref name=stimes>{{cite web|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20110905/NEWS01/110905005/Victor-Bussie-labor-leader-dead-92|title=Victor Bussie, Labor leader dead at 92|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=September 9, 2011}}</ref> Bussie had a brother and five sisters, one of whom, Authree B. Gorrell of [[Austin]], [[Texas]], was still living as of 2011. At some point, the Bussies headed south to Rapides Parish because another sister, Fannie Mae Bussie Heard (1924–2009) of Shreveport, was born in the Boyce community. Fannie Heard was one of the first female [[Certified Public Accountant]]s in northwestern Louisiana, having also been licensed to practice in [[California]] and [[Nevada]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/shreveporttimes/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=127847620|title=Obituary of Fannie Mae Bussie Heard|publisher='The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=June 3, 2009}}</ref> Bussie, who was half [[Native Americans|Choctaw Indian]].<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20070808154804/http://www.blueskywaters.com/page_96.htm</ref> commented on his background, as follows:
Bussie recalled having been born in poverty in the community of Montrose in Natchitoches Parish to Christopher "Chris" Bussie and the former Fannie LaCaze.<ref name=obit/> The senior Bussie was a unionized employee of the Texas Pacific Railroad.<ref name=stimes>{{cite web|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20110905/NEWS01/110905005/Victor-Bussie-labor-leader-dead-92|title=Victor Bussie, Labor leader dead at 92|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=September 9, 2011}}</ref> Bussie had a brother and five sisters, one of whom, Authree B. Gorrell of [[Austin]], [[Texas]], was still living as of 2011. At some point, the Bussies headed south to Rapides Parish because another sister, Fannie Mae Bussie Heard (1924–2009) of Shreveport, was born in the Boyce community. Fannie Heard was one of the first female [[Certified Public Accountant]]s in northwestern Louisiana, having also been licensed to practice in [[California]] and [[Nevada]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/shreveporttimes/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=127847620|title=Obituary of Fannie Mae Bussie Heard|publisher='The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=June 3, 2009}}</ref> Bussie, who was half [[Native Americans|Choctaw Indian]].<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20070808154804/http://www.blueskywaters.com/page_96.htm</ref> commented on his background, as follows:
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
My mother and father struggled to send us to school because of the high cost of school books. There finally came a time when they could no longer afford to buy books for seven children. We children were told that we could no longer attend school.<ref name=autogenerated3>[http://www.hueylong.com/perspectives/share-your-stories.php Share Your Huey Long Stories<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
That very same year, [[Governor]] [[Huey Long|Huey Pierce Long, Jr.]], persuaded the state legislature to fund schoolbooks for all children attending public schools.
That very same year, [[Governor]] [[Huey Long|Huey Pierce Long, Jr.]], persuaded the state legislature to fund schoolbooks for all children attending public schools.
Not only did that mean that my brother and sisters and I could finish our education but also thousands of other children could as well. My family never forgot Huey Long and became longtime political supporters of the Long family.<ref name=autogenerated3/></blockquote>
Not only did that mean that my brother and sisters and I could finish our education but also thousands of other children could as well. My family never forgot Huey Long and became longtime political supporters of the Long family.<ref name=autogenerated3/></blockquote>
In 1959, as AFL-CIO president, Bussie checked himself into a mental health facility in [[Galveston, Texas|Galveston]], Texas, as a ruse for the confinement of Governor [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]], who was committed by his wife, Blanche Revere Long and Long's [[nephew]], [[U.S. Senator]] [[Russell Long]]. "It’s hard to believe that I was involved in it. It was a mess. He (Long) could have easily sued me, but that never occurred to me. He was a friend, and I just tried to help as best I could."<ref name=blum>{{cite web|url=http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/31263899.html|author=Jordan Blum|title=Bussie helped strengthen unions in Louisiana,|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|date=October 20, 2008, p. 1A.</ref>
In 1959, as AFL-CIO president, Bussie checked himself into a mental health facility in [[Galveston, Texas|Galveston]], Texas, as a ruse for the planned confinement of Governor [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]], who was committed by his wife, Blanche Revere Long and Long's [[nephew]], [[U.S. Senator]] [[Russell Long]]. "It’s hard to believe that I was involved in it. It was a mess. He (Long) could have easily sued me, but that never occurred to me. He was a friend, and I just tried to help as best I could."<ref name=blum>{{cite web|url=http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/31263899.html|author=Jordan Blum|title=Bussie helped strengthen unions in Louisiana,|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|date=October 20, 2008, p. 1A.</ref>
==Bussie in Shreveport==
==Bussie in Shreveport==