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CWA Newsmakers
John Kulstad, assistant to three CWA executive vice presidents, has retired. As a member of the Joseph Anthony Beirne Foundation board and an administrator for the union’s Ray Hackney Scholarship program, Kulstad helped the union render scholarship assistance to the families of hundreds of CWA members and telecommunications unionists in South America, Central America and the Caribbean. He also helped the union make grants to many social justice causes.
Kulstad, 64, joined CWA Local 9510 in Orange County, Calif., when he went to work as lineman and cable splicer for Pacific Telephone in 1956. Taking a leave of absence from the company, he served in the U.S. Navy from 1958 to 1961 as a radar operator and electronic technician. He returned to Pacific Telephone in 1961, became active in his local as steward and treasurer and served as full-time local president from 1968 to 1973. Kulstad joined CWA’s headquarters staff in June 1973, with responsibility for community services, urban affairs and consumer affairs. He took on staff responsibility for training and continued that work after his promotion in 1978 to administrative assistant to Executive Vice President M.E. Nichols. From 1986 to 1988, he served as assistant to Executive Vice President John Carroll. He served as Nichol’s assistant from 1988 to 1998, then as Executive Vice President Cohen’s special assistant until his retirement.
Lela Foreman,
CWA Local 2252 Steward Sherwood Branch has received the Archie Iddings Community Service Award from the Richmond, Va., Regional Labor Council. The award, established in 1996, honors leaders who have made contributions not only to the labor movement but to their community. Branch, shown at left, accepting with wife Jackie and his three daughters, has served as Local 2252 area vice president and chair of its equity and legislative committees. He has also chaired community services for both his local and the labor council. Branch sits on the Virginia AFL-CIO Executive Board and has served on the Governor’s Job Training Coordinating Council. A member of the A. Philip Randolph Institute and the Chesterfield Democratic Club, he has also filled the roles of United Way employee campaign manager at AT&T and volunteer for the Letter Carriers’ annual food drive.
Kulstad, 64, joined CWA Local 9510 in Orange County, Calif., when he went to work as lineman and cable splicer for Pacific Telephone in 1956. Taking a leave of absence from the company, he served in the U.S. Navy from 1958 to 1961 as a radar operator and electronic technician. He returned to Pacific Telephone in 1961, became active in his local as steward and treasurer and served as full-time local president from 1968 to 1973. Kulstad joined CWA’s headquarters staff in June 1973, with responsibility for community services, urban affairs and consumer affairs. He took on staff responsibility for training and continued that work after his promotion in 1978 to administrative assistant to Executive Vice President M.E. Nichols. From 1986 to 1988, he served as assistant to Executive Vice President John Carroll. He served as Nichol’s assistant from 1988 to 1998, then as Executive Vice President Cohen’s special assistant until his retirement.
Lela Foreman,
CWA Local 2252 Steward Sherwood Branch has received the Archie Iddings Community Service Award from the Richmond, Va., Regional Labor Council. The award, established in 1996, honors leaders who have made contributions not only to the labor movement but to their community. Branch, shown at left, accepting with wife Jackie and his three daughters, has served as Local 2252 area vice president and chair of its equity and legislative committees. He has also chaired community services for both his local and the labor council. Branch sits on the Virginia AFL-CIO Executive Board and has served on the Governor’s Job Training Coordinating Council. A member of the A. Philip Randolph Institute and the Chesterfield Democratic Club, he has also filled the roles of United Way employee campaign manager at AT&T and volunteer for the Letter Carriers’ annual food drive.