Newsmakers

Members of CWA Local 1183 at the New York City Board of Elections have been commended by the state Board of Elections and a national association for their actions in the hours, days and weeks after the terror attacks Sept. 11 — the day of the city’s mayoral primary. The state board praised city elections workers for suspending voting under the most dire circumstances. “The logistics were handled efficiently despite the fact that the city board’s headquarters and executive offices, within blocks of Ground Zero, were without electrical and telephone services for a period of time,” state officials said. A resolution by the International Association of Clerks, Recorders, Election Officials and Treasurers said that “under near impossible conditions,” city workers managed to reschedule the primary two weeks later and held three other elections within two months. “The New York City Board of Elections, despite these obstacles and without complaint or hesitation, provided an election system that allowed all voters to cast ballots in a calm and impartial fashion,” the resolution proclaimed.

Former CWA Local 7026 President Michael McGrath has been elected secretary-treasurer of the Arizona State AFL-CIO, which represents 135,000 union members. The position is the head job at the state federation, similar to a president or business manager’s position in some union structures. CWA President Morton Bahr praised McGrath as a “progressive leader” who will work hard on behalf of union members and all workers in the state. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said that with strong state federation leaders like McGrath, the labor movement is well situated to take on big business and anti-worker politicians by mobilizing “members, community groups and allies to fight assaults on working families and benefit all affiliates.”

CWA Local 3190 was proud recently to honor Nicole Dunaway, winner of a $6,500 scholarship through the Lucent-CWA-IBEW academic award program. Nicole’s father, Terry Dunaway, is a Lucent installer in Jacksonville, Fla., who has worked for the company and been a CWA member for more than 30 years. Nicole, 18, is a freshman at the University of Florida majoring in chemical engineering in preparation for medical school. In high school, Nicole played volleyball, softball and basketball, held after-school jobs, volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and other charities and tutored fellow students, all while taking advanced placement classes and maintaining an A-plus average. “She really deserved this,” Local 3190 President Augie De Barros said. “We’re really proud of her and wanted to recognize her with a plaque and a ceremony.”