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CWA Remembers ‘Exceptional’ Organizer, Leader, Friend
Eduardo Diaz was exceptional. His commitment to his family, his work and his union will continue to speak for him far beyond his life. For me, and all of us who worked with him, the loss of his love and friendship is beyond measure. But for our union and the international labor movement we must try to remember and continue his work. With that in mind I offer these thoughts.
Eduardo grew up in Puerto Rico with his parents and three sisters. Civil rights issues were apparent in everyday life, and Puerto Ricans who migrated to the mainland faced brutal discrimination here. Eduardo was a talented pitcher on a semi-pro baseball team, attended the University of Puerto Rico and was involved in many of the civil rights issues of his time. At 22, he enrolled in a masters degree program in labor studies at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. He also worked for a local Latino community organization, and hearing about the CWA organizing drive at the local Hyatt hotel, he volunteered. The organizing drive was brutal, 38 workers were fired and we lost the representation election by a few votes. By the end, Eduardo’s idea of volunteering turned into 60-hour weeks, while he completed his degree.
CWA needed organizers in Texas where we were launching the Texas State Employees Union, and he agreed to go right after graduation. Within a few years he became the coordinator of organizing for the local, and during his time there he helped build Local 6186 from 2,000 to nearly 10,000 members. More important than the numbers were the work ethic and the close relationships with CWAers like Danny Fetonte, Sandy Rusher, Mike Gross and Lynn McCray, all of whom continue to build our union in District 6. Few of us have tried, let alone succeeded, in building a union without collective bargaining, combining issue campaigns and organizing skills on a constant basis, but that is the legacy of his work in Texas.
Eduardo never forgot his roots in Puerto Rico, and even while in Texas he often volunteered for international work. At that time, our principal international trade secretariat was the Postal, Telegraph and Telephone International — PTTI — and President Morton Bahr recommended Eduardo for a new post in Washington as North American director for PTTI. Eduardo was the first PTTI staffer to have an organizing background and he immediately began to help transition PTTI from an emphasis on broad union educational goals to a greater focus on multinational communications firms and an organizing approach for member unions. This also forced communications unions in developed economies like our own to examine the behavior of their employers in other nations. Much of our work at SBC, AT&T Concert and others was built on this approach.
In 1997 Vice President Pete Catucci offered Eduardo the opportunity to return to organizing; Eduardo then became the Organizing Coordinator for District 2. Eduardo proved that one person can make a difference. He helped develop local organizers across the district, including Ron Collins, who now serves as District 2 Organizing Coordinator. Building organizing capacity was as important as the many campaign victories the district achieved.
In 1999 Eduardo joined the EVP office as CWA’s International Affairs Director with significant organizing responsibilities as well. Eduardo led CWA’s effort in Europe to help stop the Sprint-WorldCom merger. Many people worked on this, including the UNI staff, but Eduardo was responsible for keeping the pieces together. The European Commission recently announced it was moving to block the merger which, together with Justice Department opposition, provided a knockout blow. But as important as the result was the way Eduardo worked with our Research Department, the UNI staff, our Sprint local leadership and consultants in Europe. Rocky Barnes, president of Local 3680, left a congratulatory message for Eduardo after the victory, describing Eduardo’s commitment, persistence and hard work as being crucial for his local’s Sprint members. Rocky had joined Eduardo and Sumanta Ray from Research in a key visit to Brussels to meet with Members of the European Parliament to discuss the merger. President Bahr summed up this work by saying, “I could always count on Eduardo to figure out complex international situations and develop a plan that worked for CWA members.”
Earlier this year Eduardo helped lead an amazing effort to organize 400 installers at the GTE-owned Puerto Rico Telephone Co. Since the company had paid the workers as independent contractors, they had to strike for recognition, not only as union members but as workers. This victory and the new local union we are building there are a significant part of his legacy. Just as important is our work with José Juan Hernández, who leads the main union at the PRTC and who is now working to affiliate his 4,000 members with CWA. Last year José Juan spoke at our convention about our joint work, in an emotional speech for all of us, particularly Eduardo. Earlier in the year, José Juan joined Eduardo at the Jobs with Justice annual meeting, pledging to the 700 assembled coalition leaders to help build Jobs with Justice around the world.
Working very hard, spreading a deep sense of commitment to justice, unwilling to bend to the greed of some of the most powerful corporations in the world, all of these qualities made Eduardo special. His ability to do this globally made him unique. He preferred to avoid the international meeting circuit and focus instead on deeper relationships and results. He preferred to avoid photo opportunities but liked to photograph others and was proud of their accomplishments. He rarely had a harsh word for anyone and worked from love and compassion.
For the first time last year, our convention began with the anthem of Puerto Rico, which meant so much to Eduardo. When we sing it this year and thereafter we will remember Eduardo and his amazing work.
“Obreros unidos jamas seran vencidos” — workers united can never be defeated. We will carry on that love and solidarity in Eduardo’s name. We will stand by his beloved wife Rosie and 2-year-old daughter Victoria. And we will never forget Eduardo Diaz.
Eduardo grew up in Puerto Rico with his parents and three sisters. Civil rights issues were apparent in everyday life, and Puerto Ricans who migrated to the mainland faced brutal discrimination here. Eduardo was a talented pitcher on a semi-pro baseball team, attended the University of Puerto Rico and was involved in many of the civil rights issues of his time. At 22, he enrolled in a masters degree program in labor studies at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. He also worked for a local Latino community organization, and hearing about the CWA organizing drive at the local Hyatt hotel, he volunteered. The organizing drive was brutal, 38 workers were fired and we lost the representation election by a few votes. By the end, Eduardo’s idea of volunteering turned into 60-hour weeks, while he completed his degree.
CWA needed organizers in Texas where we were launching the Texas State Employees Union, and he agreed to go right after graduation. Within a few years he became the coordinator of organizing for the local, and during his time there he helped build Local 6186 from 2,000 to nearly 10,000 members. More important than the numbers were the work ethic and the close relationships with CWAers like Danny Fetonte, Sandy Rusher, Mike Gross and Lynn McCray, all of whom continue to build our union in District 6. Few of us have tried, let alone succeeded, in building a union without collective bargaining, combining issue campaigns and organizing skills on a constant basis, but that is the legacy of his work in Texas.
Eduardo never forgot his roots in Puerto Rico, and even while in Texas he often volunteered for international work. At that time, our principal international trade secretariat was the Postal, Telegraph and Telephone International — PTTI — and President Morton Bahr recommended Eduardo for a new post in Washington as North American director for PTTI. Eduardo was the first PTTI staffer to have an organizing background and he immediately began to help transition PTTI from an emphasis on broad union educational goals to a greater focus on multinational communications firms and an organizing approach for member unions. This also forced communications unions in developed economies like our own to examine the behavior of their employers in other nations. Much of our work at SBC, AT&T Concert and others was built on this approach.
In 1997 Vice President Pete Catucci offered Eduardo the opportunity to return to organizing; Eduardo then became the Organizing Coordinator for District 2. Eduardo proved that one person can make a difference. He helped develop local organizers across the district, including Ron Collins, who now serves as District 2 Organizing Coordinator. Building organizing capacity was as important as the many campaign victories the district achieved.
In 1999 Eduardo joined the EVP office as CWA’s International Affairs Director with significant organizing responsibilities as well. Eduardo led CWA’s effort in Europe to help stop the Sprint-WorldCom merger. Many people worked on this, including the UNI staff, but Eduardo was responsible for keeping the pieces together. The European Commission recently announced it was moving to block the merger which, together with Justice Department opposition, provided a knockout blow. But as important as the result was the way Eduardo worked with our Research Department, the UNI staff, our Sprint local leadership and consultants in Europe. Rocky Barnes, president of Local 3680, left a congratulatory message for Eduardo after the victory, describing Eduardo’s commitment, persistence and hard work as being crucial for his local’s Sprint members. Rocky had joined Eduardo and Sumanta Ray from Research in a key visit to Brussels to meet with Members of the European Parliament to discuss the merger. President Bahr summed up this work by saying, “I could always count on Eduardo to figure out complex international situations and develop a plan that worked for CWA members.”
Earlier this year Eduardo helped lead an amazing effort to organize 400 installers at the GTE-owned Puerto Rico Telephone Co. Since the company had paid the workers as independent contractors, they had to strike for recognition, not only as union members but as workers. This victory and the new local union we are building there are a significant part of his legacy. Just as important is our work with José Juan Hernández, who leads the main union at the PRTC and who is now working to affiliate his 4,000 members with CWA. Last year José Juan spoke at our convention about our joint work, in an emotional speech for all of us, particularly Eduardo. Earlier in the year, José Juan joined Eduardo at the Jobs with Justice annual meeting, pledging to the 700 assembled coalition leaders to help build Jobs with Justice around the world.
Working very hard, spreading a deep sense of commitment to justice, unwilling to bend to the greed of some of the most powerful corporations in the world, all of these qualities made Eduardo special. His ability to do this globally made him unique. He preferred to avoid the international meeting circuit and focus instead on deeper relationships and results. He preferred to avoid photo opportunities but liked to photograph others and was proud of their accomplishments. He rarely had a harsh word for anyone and worked from love and compassion.
For the first time last year, our convention began with the anthem of Puerto Rico, which meant so much to Eduardo. When we sing it this year and thereafter we will remember Eduardo and his amazing work.
“Obreros unidos jamas seran vencidos” — workers united can never be defeated. We will carry on that love and solidarity in Eduardo’s name. We will stand by his beloved wife Rosie and 2-year-old daughter Victoria. And we will never forget Eduardo Diaz.