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Norma Powell Raised the Bar for Minority Staff
Norma C. Powell, a retired administrative assistant to four CWA vice presidents died unexpectedly of a heart attack Feb. 2 at a hospital in Birmingham, Ala., after being admitted for pneumonia. She was 66.
"Norma inspired workers to organize by using herself as an example of someone who came from a family with few economic resources, yet was able to achieve and to rise up in the union," said District 3 Vice President Noah Savant, who once worked for Powell as a CWA representative.
"She was a true trade unionist, very gifted in mobilizing and organizing," said retired District 3 Vice President Jimmy Smith, the last VP she worked for, helping organize 9,000 Cingular workers.
Savant and Smith attended Powell's funeral in Birmingham with a host of CWA leaders.
"Norma became the first African American administrative assistant in District 10," now part of 3, said Booker Lester, administrative assistant to Savant, who also came up under Powell's tutelage. "She was one dynamic lady who was a pathfinder for African Americans."
Walter Andrews, president of the CWA Minority Caucus, knew Powell from 1978. "After Districts 3 and 10 came together to form one district in 1986, she became a mother to us all in all nine states."
Indeed, she did rally the troops in all nine - Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida - for bargaining mobilizations behind major contracts at AT&T, BellSouth, Sprint and elsewhere, to elect union-friendly candidates and to lobby for the union's legislative agenda.
Andrews said the CWA Minority Caucus Conference, Aug. 25-28 in Chicago, will this year be dedicated to Powell's memory.
Born in Chicago April 27, 1938, Powell relocated to Chicago and signed on as a long distance operator with Illinois Bell. In 1971, she moved to Birmingham, Ala., to work for South Central Bell and served as a steward and member of CWA Local 10902's executive board.
She joined the staff as a CWA representative in Birmingham in December 1974. District 10 Vice President Mitch Roshto, now deceased, elevated her to administrative assistant in June 1980. She continued in that job when Theodore Volk succeeded Roshto in 1983, moved to the District 3 Decatur, Ga., office after consolidation of the two districts, and continued as an administrative assistant under District 3 Vice Presidents Gene Russo and Jimmy Smith. She retired to Birmingham in April 1999.
Powell is survived by a son, Michael, three sisters, two brothers, and two granddaughters.
"Norma inspired workers to organize by using herself as an example of someone who came from a family with few economic resources, yet was able to achieve and to rise up in the union," said District 3 Vice President Noah Savant, who once worked for Powell as a CWA representative.
"She was a true trade unionist, very gifted in mobilizing and organizing," said retired District 3 Vice President Jimmy Smith, the last VP she worked for, helping organize 9,000 Cingular workers.
Savant and Smith attended Powell's funeral in Birmingham with a host of CWA leaders.
"Norma became the first African American administrative assistant in District 10," now part of 3, said Booker Lester, administrative assistant to Savant, who also came up under Powell's tutelage. "She was one dynamic lady who was a pathfinder for African Americans."
Walter Andrews, president of the CWA Minority Caucus, knew Powell from 1978. "After Districts 3 and 10 came together to form one district in 1986, she became a mother to us all in all nine states."
Indeed, she did rally the troops in all nine - Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida - for bargaining mobilizations behind major contracts at AT&T, BellSouth, Sprint and elsewhere, to elect union-friendly candidates and to lobby for the union's legislative agenda.
Andrews said the CWA Minority Caucus Conference, Aug. 25-28 in Chicago, will this year be dedicated to Powell's memory.
Born in Chicago April 27, 1938, Powell relocated to Chicago and signed on as a long distance operator with Illinois Bell. In 1971, she moved to Birmingham, Ala., to work for South Central Bell and served as a steward and member of CWA Local 10902's executive board.
She joined the staff as a CWA representative in Birmingham in December 1974. District 10 Vice President Mitch Roshto, now deceased, elevated her to administrative assistant in June 1980. She continued in that job when Theodore Volk succeeded Roshto in 1983, moved to the District 3 Decatur, Ga., office after consolidation of the two districts, and continued as an administrative assistant under District 3 Vice Presidents Gene Russo and Jimmy Smith. She retired to Birmingham in April 1999.
Powell is survived by a son, Michael, three sisters, two brothers, and two granddaughters.