Former IBEW Local 2222 Vice President Jerry Leary was laid to rest yesterday after mourners passed under the booms of two telephone company bucket trucks, with a union banner strung between. In the face of grotesque caricatures of unionism projected today, it's easy to forget what being a rank-and-file member means in the culture of solidarity and friendship found in the best of local unions. Photo: Jan Vrotsos.   Twenty years ago this December, the large Dorchester, Massachusetts, clan of Jerry "Judgie" Leary was, like many other telephone worker families in the Northeast, not exactly flush with cash for Christmas presents.   Jerry and 60,000 other members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the Communications Workers (CWA) had just spent four grueling, impoverishing months on the picket line battling NYNEX, the regional telecom giant now known as Verizon.   Memories of that strike include first-time-ever visits to food banks, the loss of job-based medical benefits because NYNEX cut them off, and the dismissal, suspension, or arrest of hundreds of union activists in New York and New England. In Westchester County, New York, a CWA picket captain with several young children was hit by a car driven by a scab and died of brain injuries; in New Hampshire, an IBEW striker was killed in an industrial accident while trying to do an unfamiliar factory job to feed his family.   But during that long ordeal the local union that Jerry served for many years afterwards as vice president and business agent made many new friends. IBEW Local 2222 became well-known in the local labor movement and in political circles outside the predominantly Irish-American neighborhoods that once produced the bulk of Boston�s police, firefighters, telephone technicians, and utility workers.   The issue in 1989 was health care cost-shifting. Because CWA and IBEW strikers countered the company's proposed givebacks by demanding "health care for all," they soon had Reverend Jesse Jackson at their side, plus striking coal miners and Eastern Airlines pilots. The NYNEX strike support effort in Boston became a "rainbow coalition" ranging from the National Organization for Women to Physicians for a National Health Program. In a rare role reversal for the 1980s, the strikers actually won and the company lost.   To this day, in recognition of the solidarity that made victory possible, Local 2222 remains an active part of Massachusetts Jobs with Justice and the Boston Labor Council, where Jerry Leary was a longtime delegate.   THE HIGH PRICE OF PREMIUM HEALTH CARE Thanks to their sacrifices 20 years ago and a willingness to fight in subsequent rounds of bargaining (which included a 14-day strike in 2000), Verizon workers in the Northeast still don't make any premium contributions for their individual or family coverage. It's an arrangement now enjoyed by only a fraction of the labor force. So, as part of a misbegotten "health care reform" scheme in Washington, D.C., some Senate Democrats and the Obama administration are now blaming so-called "Cadillac plans," like the one at Verizon, for medical cost inflation--and want to slap a not-very-helpful excise tax on them. (See http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091102/early_wilson for more on that controversy.)   Jerry Leary never owned a Cadillac but he did need good union-negotiated benefits when he was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer last spring. This unexpected blow to a seemingly hale and hearty NYNEX strike veteran didn't prevent him from being involved in preparations for a big anti-layoff march in early October that brought nearly a thousand union members to the front door of Verizon's headquarters and other protest targets in downtown Boston, like the Hyatt Hotel. But Jerry's condition did lead to medical complications that imposed considerable financial and emotional strain on his wife, six children, and large extended family.   To show members' appreciation for Jerry's many years of service to the union and "his lifelong commitment to Dorchester and its various sports, civic, neighborhood, or religious organizations," Local 2222 set up a fundraising website (www.learyFamilyFund.com).  Ace mobilization committee member Donna Bohan began making plans for a January 29 benefit party at Florian Hall, owned by Firefighters Local 718 and the site of numerous mass meetings during the 1989 walkout. Unfortunately, the fundraiser is now going to be held without the guest of honor. On December 11 Jerry Leary died at the age of 57.   COMMON CARING FOR EACH OTHER In many unions, it's not uncommon to toast, at great dues-payer expense, some member of the officialdom or write big checks for "a time" (as fundraisers for cash-hungry politicians are called here in Boston). But just as Jerry was known, far and wide, for his selfless volunteering, the January 29 event for the Leary family is a typical expression of IBEW caring for those in need, regardless of rank or title in the union.
In the last few months alone, due to Donna Bohan's tireless efforts, tens of thousands of dollars have been raised for one Local 2222 member left crippled after surgery and the family of another who died in a skiing accident. In myriad ways, large and small, the local is forever extending a helping hand and leaving a lasting impression.   For example, Jerry's close friend Myles Calvey, the always-in-motion business manager of Local 2222, attends as many wakes as a Catholic priest. Myles' warm presence and reassuring offers of solace and support, from the union, are always appreciated by bereaved family members and friends. Local President Eddie "Fitzy" Fitzpatrick, another 1989 strike leader, is a legendary figure in 2222's "employee assistance" program; his personal interventions have saved the lives, marriages, and phone company careers of countless workers caught in the grip of substance abuse. And, of course, a legion of other IBEW business agents and stewards, like recently retired mobilization coordinator and Labor Notes supporter Dave Reardon, have devoted thousands of hours to answering phone calls, filing grievances, and resolving problems related to the Verizon contract and its hard-won safety net of medical and pension benefits, disability coverage, and family and medical leave protections.   UNDER THE ARCH OF BUCKET TRUCK BOOMS All of the above and many more were at Jerry Leary's funeral yesterday at St. Anne's, the parish in Dorchester where he was born, raised, and lived his whole life. After Mass, a long line of cars headed down Neponset Avenue, past the Boston Firefighters honor guard and the Local 2222 union hall in Lower Mills -- where Myles, Jerry, Fitzy, Dave, Donna, and others have served the membership in recent years, since relocating from their old strike headquarters in North Quincy.   Our destination this time was Cedar Grove Cemetery, a mile or so down the road. How many people have ever been interred, there or anywhere, after passing under the raised and arched booms of two telephone company bucket trucks, with a union banner strung between the two?   I don't know. But my guess is that Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, big company man that he is, won't be laid to rest in similar fashion when his number is up. Ivan's $20 million a year in salary, bonuses, and stock options will buy a different send-off. It will be far less reflective of real life conditions at the phone company, like the biting cold at Jerry's gravesite that is a familiar winter time companion of those whose year-round job is climbing poles or splicing cable underground.   In the face of the grotesque caricatures of trade unionism projected by Verizon and other firms today in their unrelenting campaign against the Employee Free Choice Act, it's easy to forget (or never know) what being a rank-and-file member means in the culture of mutual aid and protection, solidarity and friendship, that exists in the best local unions.   As Chicago labor lawyer Tom Geoghegan noted years ago in his book Which Side Are You On?, that organizational connection doesn't just provide better pay and benefits. For union activists, it makes you part of a distinct "counter-culture" that continues to contest -- even if imperfectly -- the dominance of competitive individualism. Big business (Verizon included) fears and hates this counter-culture, far more than any stereotypical working class Joe might have disliked the Woodstock generation 40 years ago.   Strong unions are deeply rooted in the workplace and community; simply by negotiating and enforcing contracts, they "interfere" with "management of the business."  Employers thus see them -- as top Verizon managers have long viewed 2222 -- as a rival for "control of the company." And that explains why Verizon has done so much to downsize, dislocate, and contain the workforce represented by this stalwart defender of "legacy contracts" and the job rights they guarantee.   The collective ties that bind co-workers "on the property," as they refer to VZ at 2222, are allegiances forged over many years of helping each other out, in countless ways, on the job and off. They represent a standing rebuff to the demands for corporate loyalty and obedience from Seidenberg and his army of headquarters bean-counters.   To see the difference, in death as well as life, one needed to look no further than the huge crowd of mourners, many with IBEW Local 2222 stickers on their cars, accompanying Brother Jerry Leary to his final resting place yesterday. His son Patrick's moving recollections from the altar of St. Anne's about a life well-spent, about a father doing good for his family, his neighborhood and city, and his beloved community of Boston telephone workers, brought tears to the eyes of many. In the back of the church, filled with hundreds of people, were many "outside plant" technicians standing in their work clothes and boots.   Until recently, Patrick Leary was one of them, too. But now Jerry's son is no longer on the Verizon payroll, a victim of layoffs earlier this fall in New England. That job-cutting represents the latest threat to telephone labor as a union-organized entity in the Northeast, not the least because it deprives both IBEW and CWA of younger rank and filers willing and able to fill the big shoes left behind by the likes of Jerry Leary.

 

Local 2323 IBEW began a proud tradition back in 1989, shortly after our 16 week strike against NYNEX ended the Local took up a collection during the Christmas Holiday Season to benefit the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.   We did this to help payback and thank the Food Bank for helping union members in our time of need during those long sixteen weeks.   On the 20^th Anniversary of that event, the Union once again is asking for your support of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Hunger and poverty are on the rise in Rhode Island. Some of our own members have been tragically laid off.   Donating to the RI Community Food Bank will help those in need of assistance to provide food for their families.   Collections of canned goods and other non-perishable items would be appreciated. Monetary donations or checks made out to the RI Community Food Bank would help those in need.   Thank you for your anticipated support.

 

With the state unemployment rate a 13 percent and expected to rise even higher when the latest figures are released next week, jobless Rhode Islanders will be in line for 20 weeks of unemployment benefits under legislation that won final passage in the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday and is headed to President Barack Obama to be signed into law.

Ocean State Congressmen Patrick Kennedy and Jim Langevin both voted in favor of the Worker, Home Ownership and Business Association Act of 2009, which will help an estimated 4,000 Rhode Islanders who have exhausted, or soon will exhaust their unemployment compensation.
The bill, co-sponsored by RI Sen. Jack Reed extends unemployment benefits in all 50 states by 14 months, but adds an additional six weeks for states such as Rhode Island that are hit particularly hard by the loss of jobs.
An estimated 200 Rhode Islanders exhaust their benefits each week.
The bill also contains tax breaks for small businesses and extends an existing $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, which was set to expire at the end of the month, until April 30, 2010. It makes homeowners who have lived in their current residence for at least five years and are looking to purchase a new home eligible for a $6,500 tax credit.
“This is a smart investment that is paid for and will provide a major boost to our economy,” Reed said in a written statement. “With winter and the holidays approaching, this legislation cannot come soon enough for thousands of Rhode Islanders who are feeling the effects, not of the last 8 months but of the last 8 years, of the Bush economy. This legislation will help people to literally put food on the table. It will give them a sense of support and substance as they go forward.”
Striking a decidedly partisan tone, Reed added, “After weeks of Republican delay, I am pleased we were finally able to pass this extension of unemployment benefits and tax cuts, which will provide a boost to our economy and real economic relief to millions of Americans still struggling under the weight of the Bush recession. Today’s overwhelming victory demonstrates we never lacked the 60 votes to move to cloture; what we lacked was unanimous consent from our Republican colleagues so the bill could move forward. In delaying this bill, Senate Republicans denied unemployment benefits to thousands of middle-class families and millions of dollars in economic aid to their own states. Those who think impeding economic recovery and derailing health care reform serves the interests of the American people are sorely mistaken. The American people want progress and results. Today we gave them both.”
Other members of the state’s all-Democratic congressional delegation also used the bill’s passage to take partisan shots at the Republican lawmakers in the Senate who stalled the bill for several months until it finally passed in that chamber Wednesday.
“With an estimated 74,000 Rhode Islanders out of work, this bill will provide a badly needed lifeline to better days ahead,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said. “It’s unfortunate that our Republican colleagues spent four weeks filibustering and delaying the passage of this critical assistance, but thankfully, we were finally able to overcome their obstructionism and deliver some much-needed help to struggling families.
“I am especially pleased,” Whitehouse added, “that in addition to the 14 weeks of benefits this legislation would provide to unemployed workers in all states, workers in states with the worst job markets would receive 6 further weeks of benefits, additional relief desperately needed by Rhode Islanders. Our economy will recover, but until then, I will keep fighting to make sure people in Rhode Island and across the country have the resources necessary to get them through these tough times.”
“After weeks of being stalled by an obstructionist minority, this package will extend unemployment benefits when Rhode Islanders need them the most,” Rep. Patrick Kennedy chipped in. “I commend the Senate leadership for finally delivering these benefits that will help families in need and immediately stimulate our economy”
“I voted today to help provide stability to Rhode Island families hit hardest by this recession,” said Langevin. “But while unemployment benefits and stimulus programs help jumpstart our economy in the short term, Congress must also work to build a new foundation for a lasting recovery. That is why we are making much needed reforms to our health care and financial systems and investing in our education and workforce training.”