Search News
For the Media
For media inquiries, call CWA Communications at 202-434-1168 or email comms@cwa-union.org. To read about CWA Members, Leadership or Industries, visit our About page.
District 3's Jack Baccari Dies at 61
CWA Representative Lawrence "Jack" Baccari, 61, died suddenly of a heart attack May 26, while in a Bell South arbitration meeting in Birmingham, Ala.
"He will be missed, very, very much," District 3 Vice President Noah Savant said. "Jack was a great staff person and had a lot of knowledge about contract negotiations and about the union in general."
CWA Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling said Baccari was the only staff member other than Carmine Turchi she considered when picking an assistant. "He was a trusted friend and a remarkable, proud and intelligent man, who put his knowledge to work for the labor movement," she said.
Before coming to CWA, Baccari worked as a janitor and at other campus jobs at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and earned a bachelor's degree in history and a masters' in labor studies.
He was hired in August 1971 as a research assistant at CWA headquarters in Washington, D.C., after organizing for the Meatcutters' union in Springfield, Mass. In May 1972 he was promoted to research economist and moved to what's now the District 3 office in Birmingham, then District 10.
His academic bent served him well after being named a CWA representative under then-District 10 Vice President Mitch Roshto. He became the district's education coordinator and taught several district leadership schools as well as steward and officer classes.
In October 1981 he moved to Nashville as West
Tennessee director. He worked in Florida for about a year and returned to Birmingham as a staff rep in August 1985.
Beverly Hicks, Savant's assistant, met him when she
was vice president of Local 3808 in Nashville. "He was always my source of information whenever I needed to know something about the history of CWA," she said.
In 1995, Baccari chaired the business systems table in Bell South bargaining. In 1998, he chaired the bargaining for outside plant workers.
Baccari was the most senior member of the CWA Staff Union. He served as District 3 representative on its executive board from the early 1990s and as vice president for the last five years.
Baccari is survived by his wife, Judith, of Birmingham, and sons Jake, Luke and Chris.
"He will be missed, very, very much," District 3 Vice President Noah Savant said. "Jack was a great staff person and had a lot of knowledge about contract negotiations and about the union in general."
CWA Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling said Baccari was the only staff member other than Carmine Turchi she considered when picking an assistant. "He was a trusted friend and a remarkable, proud and intelligent man, who put his knowledge to work for the labor movement," she said.
Before coming to CWA, Baccari worked as a janitor and at other campus jobs at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and earned a bachelor's degree in history and a masters' in labor studies.
He was hired in August 1971 as a research assistant at CWA headquarters in Washington, D.C., after organizing for the Meatcutters' union in Springfield, Mass. In May 1972 he was promoted to research economist and moved to what's now the District 3 office in Birmingham, then District 10.
His academic bent served him well after being named a CWA representative under then-District 10 Vice President Mitch Roshto. He became the district's education coordinator and taught several district leadership schools as well as steward and officer classes.
In October 1981 he moved to Nashville as West
Tennessee director. He worked in Florida for about a year and returned to Birmingham as a staff rep in August 1985.
Beverly Hicks, Savant's assistant, met him when she
was vice president of Local 3808 in Nashville. "He was always my source of information whenever I needed to know something about the history of CWA," she said.
In 1995, Baccari chaired the business systems table in Bell South bargaining. In 1998, he chaired the bargaining for outside plant workers.
Baccari was the most senior member of the CWA Staff Union. He served as District 3 representative on its executive board from the early 1990s and as vice president for the last five years.
Baccari is survived by his wife, Judith, of Birmingham, and sons Jake, Luke and Chris.