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New Vice Presidents To Lead Districts 1 and 13
New leaders have been selected for Districts 1 and 13 by the CWA Executive Board. Chris Shelton succeeds Larry Mancino as District 1 vice president, and Jim Short will serve the remaining term of District 13 Vice President Vince Maisano. Both Mancino and Maisano retired April 2.
Both Shelton and Short will run for election to their new offices at the CWA convention this summer.
Hearing All of District 1
As District 1 vice president, Shelton will establish an advisory committee of local presidents representing every sector and every geographical area. District 1 comprises over 300 locals from New Jersey to Canada, representing 170,000 members.
"I want to make sure that all of the locals are taken into account when anything is done." Shelton said he's learned from his predecessor that "every decision I make, I have to live with, and if it's a good decision for the members, it's the right decision."
Shelton began his union career as a shop steward and, soon after, chief steward in Local 1101, shortly after going to work for New York Telephone in 1969 as an outside plant technician. He served the local as a grievance coordinator, prosecutor, legislative activist and organizer.
Among his organizing accomplishments was the unit known as the "New York 50," the former Nynex Mobile technicians who are now CWA's only beachhead so far at the virulently anti-union Verizon Wireless.
Shelton joined the staff as a CWA representative in January 1989. Working closely with downstate New York locals, he negotiated contracts in the printing and public sectors and various agreements with Verizon. He was elected to the CWA Staff Union executive board in 1996 and served until April 2000, when he became downstate New York and Connecticut area director. Three years later, he became assistant to Mancino.
He served as regional bargaining chair for Verizon bargaining in 2000 and 2003 and chaired the critical health care bargaining subcommittee for Districts 1, 2, 13 and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Shelton said he has copied the bargaining styles of Bahr and Mancino, "two of the best negotiators I've ever seen."
Mancino: 40 Years of Activism
Brooklyn-born Larry Mancino, 69, moved to Staten Island, N.Y., in 1962. Following a stint with the Air Force, he went to work for Western Union and, in 1966, helped bring the 4,000-member bargaining unit into CWA.
Mancino was elected full-time vice president of CWA Local 1177 in January 1967, and helped lead his local through a 17-week strike in 1971. He helped find jobs for 700 operators that Western Union laid off and negotiated a job security provision guaranteeing members jobs for a number of years into the future equal to their prior service.
He joined the staff as a CWA representative in 1972, and in October 1978 was promoted to downstate New York area director.
Mancino served as bargaining chair in CWA's first negotiations with New York Telephone after the 1983 divestiture from AT&T and, in July 1985, became assistant to District 1 Vice President Jan Pierce, with responsibility for contracts covering 140,000 members in eight northeastern states.
In January 1991, CWA President Morton Bahr brought Mancino to Washington, D.C., as his assistant, and Mancino took charge of negotiations and the union's other dealings with Pacific Telesis, Ameritech, AT&T and US West.
The delegates elected Mancino as District 1 vice president by acclamation at the June 1996 CWA convention and reelected him in 1999 and 2002.
Over the years, Mancino has been extensively involved in community services as vice chairman of the board of directors of the Tri-State United Way, co-chair of its finance committee and member of its executive committee.
Looking back on his years of service, Mancino said, "The impact you have on people's lives is unbelievable."
He told of a phone call he received from one member. "The man thanked me for getting his job back and helping him educate his children. His son became a doctor and his daughter became an attorney. Multiply that by thousands of people whose lives you affect over the years."
Unity in District 13
"A safe workplace, jobs with justice and dignity, and benefits so our members can retire with dignity" is what Jim Short wants to accomplish as new District 13 vice president, whether at Verizon, AT&T, US Airways, Comcast and Adelphia or any other unit the district represents. "No question, we have some major challenges ahead of us, plus we have to organize the unorganized. That's got to be the number one goal."
Born in Philadelphia, Short, 53, went to work for Bell of Pennsylvania as a technician in 1969 and became a member of the independent Federation of Telephone Workers of Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the Marine Corps later that year and returned to Bell upon completion of his enlistment in 1971.
He held numerous leadership positions in FTWP Local 12, including branch representative, unit secretary, unit vice president and unit president.
In 1984, he went to work for AT&T. That same year, the FTWP affiliated with CWA, leading to the establishment of District 13, covering Pennsylvania and Delaware. Short initiated a grievance and testified against AT&T in a case that in the 1980s brought a $6 million settlement with the company for using contract labor in violation of the CWA contract.
He joined the CWA staff in District 13 in March 1992, and in October 1994 was appointed by Vice President Maisano as his assistant. From 1995 on, he co-chaired Bell Atlantic and later, Verizon, bargaining for the mid-Atlantic region, helping protect retiree health care and improve health care for active members.
Maisano: Forging Unity at Bell
Vince Maisano, 62, has headed District 13 since his election as CWA vice president at the 1986 convention.
He served in the Army from October 1960 to October 1963. In May 1966 he went to work for Bell of Pennsylvania as a station installer, and later as a PBX installer and repair technician.
Maisano joined Local 13 of the FTWP his first day on the job, was elected branch representative in 1968, local president in 1970 and Philadelphia Division vice president in 1976.
In 1982, he was elected FTWP executive vice president and became the union's chief negotiator. He was instrumental in facilitating FTWP's merger into CWA in 1984, and that year he was elected president of his local, which became CWA Local 13000.
"At that time, the FTWP was the largest independent in the country," Maisano said. "The affiliation brought 14,000 members into CWA, and several other independents followed." These included the Pennsylvania Telephone Guild, United Telephone Workers of Delaware and Diamond State Telephone Commercial Union.
Long involved in the state labor movement and politics, Maisano is vice president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO and vice president of its Philadelphia Council and serves on numerous boards and committees. In 1988, he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
He was the FTWP's chief negotiator with Bell of Pennsylvania in 1983 and was CWA's chief negotiator with Bell Atlantic, which became Verizon South, in every round of bargaining since 1986. He will assist Short with legislative and organizing activities during the district's transition to new leadership and will serve on a task force of former officers that he said President Bahr is putting together to assist with organizing Verizon Wireless.
"District 13 is pretty well known as a district that can stick together when there are important issues facing us," Maisano said. "We've always been able to do that, and I hope I've led that effort."
New IUE-CWA Leader
At press time, IUE-CWA Division President Michael Bindas announced his retirement, citing family health problems. Jim Clark, IUE-CWA Automotive Conference Board chairman, was named as new IUE-CWA president. More information will follow in the next CWA News.
Both Shelton and Short will run for election to their new offices at the CWA convention this summer.
Hearing All of District 1
As District 1 vice president, Shelton will establish an advisory committee of local presidents representing every sector and every geographical area. District 1 comprises over 300 locals from New Jersey to Canada, representing 170,000 members.
"I want to make sure that all of the locals are taken into account when anything is done." Shelton said he's learned from his predecessor that "every decision I make, I have to live with, and if it's a good decision for the members, it's the right decision."
Shelton began his union career as a shop steward and, soon after, chief steward in Local 1101, shortly after going to work for New York Telephone in 1969 as an outside plant technician. He served the local as a grievance coordinator, prosecutor, legislative activist and organizer.
Among his organizing accomplishments was the unit known as the "New York 50," the former Nynex Mobile technicians who are now CWA's only beachhead so far at the virulently anti-union Verizon Wireless.
Shelton joined the staff as a CWA representative in January 1989. Working closely with downstate New York locals, he negotiated contracts in the printing and public sectors and various agreements with Verizon. He was elected to the CWA Staff Union executive board in 1996 and served until April 2000, when he became downstate New York and Connecticut area director. Three years later, he became assistant to Mancino.
He served as regional bargaining chair for Verizon bargaining in 2000 and 2003 and chaired the critical health care bargaining subcommittee for Districts 1, 2, 13 and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Shelton said he has copied the bargaining styles of Bahr and Mancino, "two of the best negotiators I've ever seen."
Mancino: 40 Years of Activism
Brooklyn-born Larry Mancino, 69, moved to Staten Island, N.Y., in 1962. Following a stint with the Air Force, he went to work for Western Union and, in 1966, helped bring the 4,000-member bargaining unit into CWA.
Mancino was elected full-time vice president of CWA Local 1177 in January 1967, and helped lead his local through a 17-week strike in 1971. He helped find jobs for 700 operators that Western Union laid off and negotiated a job security provision guaranteeing members jobs for a number of years into the future equal to their prior service.
He joined the staff as a CWA representative in 1972, and in October 1978 was promoted to downstate New York area director.
Mancino served as bargaining chair in CWA's first negotiations with New York Telephone after the 1983 divestiture from AT&T and, in July 1985, became assistant to District 1 Vice President Jan Pierce, with responsibility for contracts covering 140,000 members in eight northeastern states.
In January 1991, CWA President Morton Bahr brought Mancino to Washington, D.C., as his assistant, and Mancino took charge of negotiations and the union's other dealings with Pacific Telesis, Ameritech, AT&T and US West.
The delegates elected Mancino as District 1 vice president by acclamation at the June 1996 CWA convention and reelected him in 1999 and 2002.
Over the years, Mancino has been extensively involved in community services as vice chairman of the board of directors of the Tri-State United Way, co-chair of its finance committee and member of its executive committee.
Looking back on his years of service, Mancino said, "The impact you have on people's lives is unbelievable."
He told of a phone call he received from one member. "The man thanked me for getting his job back and helping him educate his children. His son became a doctor and his daughter became an attorney. Multiply that by thousands of people whose lives you affect over the years."
Unity in District 13
"A safe workplace, jobs with justice and dignity, and benefits so our members can retire with dignity" is what Jim Short wants to accomplish as new District 13 vice president, whether at Verizon, AT&T, US Airways, Comcast and Adelphia or any other unit the district represents. "No question, we have some major challenges ahead of us, plus we have to organize the unorganized. That's got to be the number one goal."
Born in Philadelphia, Short, 53, went to work for Bell of Pennsylvania as a technician in 1969 and became a member of the independent Federation of Telephone Workers of Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the Marine Corps later that year and returned to Bell upon completion of his enlistment in 1971.
He held numerous leadership positions in FTWP Local 12, including branch representative, unit secretary, unit vice president and unit president.
In 1984, he went to work for AT&T. That same year, the FTWP affiliated with CWA, leading to the establishment of District 13, covering Pennsylvania and Delaware. Short initiated a grievance and testified against AT&T in a case that in the 1980s brought a $6 million settlement with the company for using contract labor in violation of the CWA contract.
He joined the CWA staff in District 13 in March 1992, and in October 1994 was appointed by Vice President Maisano as his assistant. From 1995 on, he co-chaired Bell Atlantic and later, Verizon, bargaining for the mid-Atlantic region, helping protect retiree health care and improve health care for active members.
Maisano: Forging Unity at Bell
Vince Maisano, 62, has headed District 13 since his election as CWA vice president at the 1986 convention.
He served in the Army from October 1960 to October 1963. In May 1966 he went to work for Bell of Pennsylvania as a station installer, and later as a PBX installer and repair technician.
Maisano joined Local 13 of the FTWP his first day on the job, was elected branch representative in 1968, local president in 1970 and Philadelphia Division vice president in 1976.
In 1982, he was elected FTWP executive vice president and became the union's chief negotiator. He was instrumental in facilitating FTWP's merger into CWA in 1984, and that year he was elected president of his local, which became CWA Local 13000.
"At that time, the FTWP was the largest independent in the country," Maisano said. "The affiliation brought 14,000 members into CWA, and several other independents followed." These included the Pennsylvania Telephone Guild, United Telephone Workers of Delaware and Diamond State Telephone Commercial Union.
Long involved in the state labor movement and politics, Maisano is vice president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO and vice president of its Philadelphia Council and serves on numerous boards and committees. In 1988, he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
He was the FTWP's chief negotiator with Bell of Pennsylvania in 1983 and was CWA's chief negotiator with Bell Atlantic, which became Verizon South, in every round of bargaining since 1986. He will assist Short with legislative and organizing activities during the district's transition to new leadership and will serve on a task force of former officers that he said President Bahr is putting together to assist with organizing Verizon Wireless.
"District 13 is pretty well known as a district that can stick together when there are important issues facing us," Maisano said. "We've always been able to do that, and I hope I've led that effort."
New IUE-CWA Leader
At press time, IUE-CWA Division President Michael Bindas announced his retirement, citing family health problems. Jim Clark, IUE-CWA Automotive Conference Board chairman, was named as new IUE-CWA president. More information will follow in the next CWA News.