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Jack Baccari of D3 Staff Dies Serving Members
CWA Representative Lawrence "Jack" Baccari, 61, died suddenly May 26, while in a Bell South arbitration meeting in Birmingham, Ala.
"He will be missed, very, very much," said District 3 Vice President Noah Savant. "Jack was a great staff person and had a lot of knowledge about contract negotiations and about the union in general."
CWA Sec.-Treas. 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," Easterling 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 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 the District 10, now District 3, office in Birmingham.
His academic bent served him well after he became a CWA Representative in July 1980 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 for various locals.
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," Hicks said.
In 1995, Baccari chaired the business systems table in Bell South bargaining. In 1998, Hicks took over that table as a staff rep and Baccari chaired the bargaining for outside plant workers.
"Jack's biggest contributions to CWA," she said, "were his knowledge of the history, the contracts he bargained and his ability to bring people together."
Baccari is survived by his wife, Judith, of Birmingham, sons Jake, Luke, and Chris, and step-daughter Melissa.
"He will be missed, very, very much," said District 3 Vice President Noah Savant. "Jack was a great staff person and had a lot of knowledge about contract negotiations and about the union in general."
CWA Sec.-Treas. 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," Easterling 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 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 the District 10, now District 3, office in Birmingham.
His academic bent served him well after he became a CWA Representative in July 1980 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 for various locals.
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," Hicks said.
In 1995, Baccari chaired the business systems table in Bell South bargaining. In 1998, Hicks took over that table as a staff rep and Baccari chaired the bargaining for outside plant workers.
"Jack's biggest contributions to CWA," she said, "were his knowledge of the history, the contracts he bargained and his ability to bring people together."
Baccari is survived by his wife, Judith, of Birmingham, sons Jake, Luke, and Chris, and step-daughter Melissa.