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NABET-CWA Mourns Passing of Retired Spokesman Tom Kennedy
Thomas F. Kennedy, a former network coordinator and assistant to the president of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, died March 3 at his home in Burbank, Calif. Kennedy, who had undergone extensive treatment for cancer, was 73.
Eulogists among former union officers, TV labor relations executives and representatives of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service attending Kennedy's funeral remembered him as a man extremely proud of his Irish heritage who dedicated much of his life toward the betterment of his union and its membership.
A native of New York City, Kennedy began his broadcast career at TV stations in West Virginia and Illinois. He joined NBC in Burbank as an engineer in April 1965 and became a member of NABET Local 53. In 1973 he was elected NABET vice president for Region 5, comprising NABET-CWA locals in the Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco areas.
He served as assistant to Network Coordinator and NABET President Edward Lynch, was elected to the bargaining committees for both ABC and NBC, and in 1986 was named network coordinator, the union's chief spokesman in negotiations with the two networks. He retired from NBC in February 1989.
Carrying the union's cause to as wide an audience as possible, during a bitter 17-week strike against NBC, Kennedy took NABET's case on corporate takeovers of NBC, ABC and CBS to Capitol Hill, testifying before the House Telecommunications and Finance Subcommittee, where he called for licensing of the networks.
He also discussed NABET's strike against NBC in an appearance on Phil Donahue's syndicated talk show. He retired as network coordinator in October 1995.
He was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, an avid fan who regularly attended network productions of major sporting events and a frequent visitor to Ireland.
He is survived by his wife, Katherine, a son Thomas, who is a member of IATSE Local 33 in Burbank, and two grandchildren.
The family requests that donations in Kennedy's memory be sent to the NABET-CWA Sector Office, 501 Third St., N.W., Washington, DC 20001 for a scholarship in his name.
Eulogists among former union officers, TV labor relations executives and representatives of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service attending Kennedy's funeral remembered him as a man extremely proud of his Irish heritage who dedicated much of his life toward the betterment of his union and its membership.
A native of New York City, Kennedy began his broadcast career at TV stations in West Virginia and Illinois. He joined NBC in Burbank as an engineer in April 1965 and became a member of NABET Local 53. In 1973 he was elected NABET vice president for Region 5, comprising NABET-CWA locals in the Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco areas.
He served as assistant to Network Coordinator and NABET President Edward Lynch, was elected to the bargaining committees for both ABC and NBC, and in 1986 was named network coordinator, the union's chief spokesman in negotiations with the two networks. He retired from NBC in February 1989.
Carrying the union's cause to as wide an audience as possible, during a bitter 17-week strike against NBC, Kennedy took NABET's case on corporate takeovers of NBC, ABC and CBS to Capitol Hill, testifying before the House Telecommunications and Finance Subcommittee, where he called for licensing of the networks.
He also discussed NABET's strike against NBC in an appearance on Phil Donahue's syndicated talk show. He retired as network coordinator in October 1995.
He was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, an avid fan who regularly attended network productions of major sporting events and a frequent visitor to Ireland.
He is survived by his wife, Katherine, a son Thomas, who is a member of IATSE Local 33 in Burbank, and two grandchildren.
The family requests that donations in Kennedy's memory be sent to the NABET-CWA Sector Office, 501 Third St., N.W., Washington, DC 20001 for a scholarship in his name.