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Ed Spillett, NABET-CWA Staff Rep, Dead at 58
Edward J. Spillett Jr., a NABET-CWA staff representative based in Washington, D.C., died Dec. 24 from complications of juvenile diabetes and kidney disease. He was 58.
"Ed was a dear friend, very faithful and loyal and very much devoted to the union," said Mike Tiglio, a fellow staff rep, who knew him from the early days of Spillett's career in Syracuse, N.Y.
Spillett started as a TV technician, camera operator and floor director for the coverage of football and basketball games at Syracuse University's Carrier Dome. In 1969, he graduated from Syracuse with a bachelor's degree in TV and radio. He continued freelancing for ESPN and other outlets covering university sports for 10 years while building a career as a senior director for WIXT in Syracuse.
Spillett became a charter member of NABET Local 211 after helping organize WIXT. For seven months during 1970 and 1971, he helped lead what he then called "the longest successful strike in NABET's history." It was in Syracuse that he met Tiglio, lead negotiator for subsequent WIXT contracts.
During 28 years at WIXT, Spillett served Local 211, now NABET-CWA Local 51211, as steward, secretary, vice president and president. He helped organize and bargain contracts for three TV stations and one radio station.
He was hired as a NABET-CWA staff rep in 1994 and relocated to the union's headquarters in Washington. He chaired bargaining for TV stations in Hartford, Conn. and Erie, Pa., as well as at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Montgomery Television in Montgomery County, Md.
One of his greatest joys was playing the guitar. Said his wife, Jean, "That was his sanity; that was how he unwound. It was hard for him this last year, because he wasn't able to do that." Spillett had three fingers amputated as a result of his diabetes.
Spillett played in rock bands during his college years and later played for his church in Syracuse. After relocating to the Washington area, as a member of its folk group, he played on two CDs sold to help fund the building of a new church for the Catholic parish of Mother Seton in Germantown, Md. The new building opened in December. He never saw the inside of it. Shortly before his death, Spillett was honored for his contributions as a musician by professional colleagues during a concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
In addition to his wife, his survivors include daughters Christine Frietas, Linda Cassidy and Emily, MaryBeth and Maureen Spillett; sisters Sally Fazio and Susan Nicholson, and three grandchildren.
"Ed was a dear friend, very faithful and loyal and very much devoted to the union," said Mike Tiglio, a fellow staff rep, who knew him from the early days of Spillett's career in Syracuse, N.Y.
Spillett started as a TV technician, camera operator and floor director for the coverage of football and basketball games at Syracuse University's Carrier Dome. In 1969, he graduated from Syracuse with a bachelor's degree in TV and radio. He continued freelancing for ESPN and other outlets covering university sports for 10 years while building a career as a senior director for WIXT in Syracuse.
Spillett became a charter member of NABET Local 211 after helping organize WIXT. For seven months during 1970 and 1971, he helped lead what he then called "the longest successful strike in NABET's history." It was in Syracuse that he met Tiglio, lead negotiator for subsequent WIXT contracts.
During 28 years at WIXT, Spillett served Local 211, now NABET-CWA Local 51211, as steward, secretary, vice president and president. He helped organize and bargain contracts for three TV stations and one radio station.
He was hired as a NABET-CWA staff rep in 1994 and relocated to the union's headquarters in Washington. He chaired bargaining for TV stations in Hartford, Conn. and Erie, Pa., as well as at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Montgomery Television in Montgomery County, Md.
One of his greatest joys was playing the guitar. Said his wife, Jean, "That was his sanity; that was how he unwound. It was hard for him this last year, because he wasn't able to do that." Spillett had three fingers amputated as a result of his diabetes.
Spillett played in rock bands during his college years and later played for his church in Syracuse. After relocating to the Washington area, as a member of its folk group, he played on two CDs sold to help fund the building of a new church for the Catholic parish of Mother Seton in Germantown, Md. The new building opened in December. He never saw the inside of it. Shortly before his death, Spillett was honored for his contributions as a musician by professional colleagues during a concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
In addition to his wife, his survivors include daughters Christine Frietas, Linda Cassidy and Emily, MaryBeth and Maureen Spillett; sisters Sally Fazio and Susan Nicholson, and three grandchildren.