Obituaries

Cancer Claims Theodore 'Tevie' Volk, Veteran CWA Leader in South
Theodore "Tevie" Volk Jr., who rose from the ranks at Southern Bell to become vice president of CWA's former District 10, died at his Talladega, Ala., home Dec. 7 after a nine-month battle with lung cancer. He was 80.

Volk briefly worked for the phone company in Macon, Ga., before serving in the U.S. Army in Europe during the last three years of World War II. Afterwards, he returned to his job at Southern Bell, working as a lineman, service technician and consultant overseeing installation projects.

He quickly became active in the union, first chairing the education committee, and then serving as vice president and ultimately president of CWA Local 3217. In 1955, CWA hired him as the South Carolina director. Within several weeks, the union began a strike against Southern Bell that lasted 72 days and Volk worked around the clock traveling to picket lines across the state.

Jack Baccari, a District 3 staff representative who knew Volk for 30 years, said Volk's patient, steady nature made him a tremendous asset, especially in times of labor strife and negotiations. "I think that his patience made him one of the best negotiators CWA ever had," he said. "The company was never able to get under his skin."

In 1964, CWA asked Volk to go to Toronto and serve as Canadian director, a position he held for three years. He returned to the United States as area director in Birmingham then became administrative assistant to the vice president. He was elected vice president of the district, which included Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, in 1983 and retired in 1986.

Volk was "very, very smart," always looking ahead in bargaining to see what steps he could take to not only better a present contract but to set the stage for future negotiations, Baccari said.

Volk's wife, Hazel, said the union "was his life" and he loved his job. "There are a lot of people who work because they have to," she said. "He was the type of person who thoroughly enjoyed helping people, doing everything he could for them."

In addition to his wife, Volk is survived by four daughters, Gail West, Sharon Parsons and Mary Maharrey of Alabama and Deborah Daniel of Phoenix. A son, Theodore Joseph Volk III, is deceased. Other survivors include two sisters and 10 grandchildren.

Jann Buttiglieri: Champion of the Underdog
Jann Buttiglieri, a District 2 staff representative in Maryland who worked with Verizon, Lucent and community college locals among her assignments, lost a three-month battle with cancer Dec. 17. She was 51.

Her patient, helpful nature earned her the nickname "mother," District 2 Vice President Pete Catucci said, because "she was not one to criticize others, but a special person who would educate you through talking, and asking you what you wanted to accomplish, what was your goal."

Buttliglieri - also widely known as "Jann Boots" because of her hard-to-pronounce last name - grew up in West Virginia and got a job with what is now Verizon in Charleston in 1973. Over the years, she worked in the pay phone division, was an operator, a service representative and, after relocating to Baltimore in 1986, a technician.

In Charleston, she was a shop steward and recording secretary for Local 2001, and went on to serve as vice president of Local 2101 in Baltimore. There, she ultimately became the company's first health care benefits coordinator, serving as a liason between management and the union. Buttliglieri was named a CWA staff representative in 1995.

Her husband Charlie Buttiglieri, past executive vice president of Local 2101 and now assistant to the president of the Baltimore AFL-CIO, said his wife "was always concerned about the underdog, always concerned about giving a voice and giving standing to people who didn't have it."

He said her passion was matched by her smarts, a tremendous speaking ability and hard work. She had an especially strong record with arbitration. "I don't know that she ever lost a case," he said. "She'd mull over that stuff for days and weeks preparing witnesses. She was very organized, a stickler for detail."

Catucci, in a eulogy, said Buttiglieri was always looking out for people in need, even carrying bulk food in her car to feed the homeless. "I have never seen anyone more committed or dedicated to the ministry of our members or the less fortunate."

Buttiglieri is survived by two grown daughters, Michelle Sarandos and Samantha Smith; two grown stepchildren, Angela Buttiglieri and Charles Buttiglieri Jr.; her mother, Rosalie Brady; three grandchildren; and two brothers.

Lonnie Daniel: Retiree was 'Crackerjack' District 10 Administrator
Lonnie Daniel, retired assistant to the vice president of District 10, now District 3, died Dec. 19 at a local hospital in Mobile, Ala., due to complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 86.

CWA Representative Jack Baccari recalled Daniel's efficiency when he was named assistant to District 10 President Willard Brown. That district, formed in 1971, comprised Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.

"Lonnie was a crackerjack administrator," said his friend Baccari. "Every T had to be crossed and every I dotted. If you needed to establish a process for something, Lonnie was very good at it."

Daniel rose from administrative assistant to assistant in August 1978 and retired in February 1980.

He began his CWA career as a member of what is now Local 3402 in Alexandria, La., joining Southern Bell in 1938. He served his local in various capacities, including as a member of the Southern Bell bargaining committee in 1951.

In June of that year he joined the CWA staff as Mississippi director, working out of Jackson, and helped lead a 72-day strike against Southern Bell in 1955. Various promotions in District 3 sent him to Atlanta in 1958 as a special representative; back to Jackson in 1960 as area director for Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama; to Atlanta in 1964 as west area director; and to Nashville in 1968 with the same title.

Daniel, who also took part in scores of political, educational and civic activities, is survived by his wife of 65 years, Virgialynn Daniel; three sons and two daughters, Michael Wayne of Uganda, East Africa, Bryan of Phoenix, Ariz., Jeffrey of Louisville, Ky., Jo Odegard of Stockbridge and Lonnette Davis of Roswell, Ga.; 10 grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

Harold Mincey: District 3 Exec Worked to Better Lives
Harold Mincey, retired administrative assistant to the District 3 vice president, died Dec. 14 at a hospital in Atlanta following a long battle with cancer. He was 56.

District 3 Vice President Jimmy Smith, who named Mincey his administrative assistant in July 1996, characterized him as, "a friend who was concerned about people and about making their lives better."

Mincey served four years as an air policeman in the U.S. Air Force from 1963 to 1967, including a tour in Vietnam. After his discharge he worked briefly as an electricians helper at Hodges Electric Co. in Wilmington, N.C.

In September 1967 he signed on with Southern Bell Telephone, working 13 years as an installer, PBX technician, service consultant and cable repairman. Meanwhile he rose through the ranks of Local 3615, serving as vice president and president. He helped lead a one-week strike against Southern Bell Telephone in 1971 and lobbied the state legislature extensively on CWA's safety and health issues.

Mincey joined the staff as a CWA representative, assigned to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in June 1981. After transferring to the Atlanta office in 1982, he handled grievances with Southern Bell.

He retired in April 1999 and lived in Conyers, Ga., at the time of his death.

Survivors include his wife Cynthia; three sons, Alan, David and Jason; and three granddaughters.