Morton Bahr
President Emeritus
Morton Bahr, who led the 700,000 member Communications Workers of America for 20 years, was named president emeritus by delegates to the union's 67 th convention on August 30, 2005 upon his retirement from the top post.
Bahr is only the third CWA president since the union's founding in 1938, led the union through one of its most turbulent periods, winning election to the position in 1985, a year after the breakup of the AT&T Bell System, which had employed a half-million union workers. Under his leadership, CWA created new bargaining and “corporate campaign” strategies to deal with the fragmented and newly competitive industry.
Bahr also expanded CWA's organizing thrust into new areas, such as health care, the public sector, and higher education, to maintain the union's growth and strength and offset telecom job losses due to deregulation, globalization and explosive technological change. At the same time, CWA has expanded organizing efforts in the emerging high tech job areas of telecommunications, including Internet-based data communications, Voice Over the Internet Protocol (VOIP) and wireless communications.
To help CWA members adapt to volatile changes in telecom and achieve career mobility, Bahr led CWA to negotiate education and training programs with the union's major employers. Other initiatives include the online CWA/NETT program, a partnership with Cisco Systems to provide certification and skill training for workers in Internet technology, and a partnership with telecom employers and Pace University that has produced the first on-line degree program in telecommunications. Recognizing his leadership in this area, President Bill Clinton appointed Bahr to head the Commission for a Nation of Lifelong Learners, which recommended an agenda for expanded adult education and training.
Under Bahr's leadership, CWA also attracted merger partners in the converging information and media fields and other areas. The first was the former International Typographical Union in 1987, followed by the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians in 1994, the Newspaper Guild in 1997, the International Union of Electronic Workers in 2000 and the Association of Flight Attendants in 2003. President Bahr has long been recognized as a leading voice of the labor movement, both in the United States and internationally. Through expanded organizing thrusts and mergers, CWA is one of the few unions that have grown in size and strength in the last 20 years.
Bahr is also recognized as a major figure in international labor affairs. He served as vice president of Union Network International, a global labor organization representing some 15 million workers in 800 unions in communications, media and entertainment, and commercial, technical and professional fields. He also served as president of UNI's World Telecom sector, representing 2.5 million workers in 120 countries, and has led CWA to develop global alliances with counterpart unions in Latin America, Europe and Asia.
Bahr has continued CWA's tradition as a leader in community service. He served on the board of the United Way of America, headed the United Way International, and served as president and treasurer of the Jewish Labor Committee. He served on the board of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, CWA's charity of choice, and was honored with the foundation's Commitment to Children award in 2002, the group's highest honor.
Prior to his election as CWA president, Bahr served for 16 years as CWA vice president for District 1 covering New York, New Jersey and New England.
Bahr, who had served in the Merchant Marine as a radio operator during World War II, first joined CWA in 1951 as an in-plant organizer at Mackay Radio and Telegraph in New York. After successfully organizing workers at Mackay, he was elected president of new CWA Local 1172. Bahr attended his first CWA convention in 1954. In 1957, he joined the CWA staff and took on the challenge of organizing 24,000 plant workers at New York Telephone. Success came in 1961.
Bahr and his wife Florence live in Washington, D.C. The couple has a son, Dan, a daughter, Janice, five granddaughters and two great-grandsons.
