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President Bahr Announces Retirement in August 2005: Board Endorses New Leadership Team of Cohen, Eas
President Bahr Announces Retirement in August 2005
As the 66th convention drew to a close, President Morton Bahr's announcement that he will not seek reelection next year took delegates by surprise - and prompted a prolonged standing ovation and cheers of "Mor-tee, Mor-tee."
Bahr, who has led the union since 1985, said, "Although I make this announcement today, I fully intend to be your president every single day for the next year. Nothing will change until the moment I hand over the gavel to my successor. I continue to look forward to visiting with you at meetings around the country."
Bahr's term and those of other national officers will expire at the August 2005 convention, to be held in Chicago.
After the convention adjourned, the CWA Executive Board unanimously endorsed Bahr's recommendation for a new top leadership team of Executive Vice President Larry Cohen as Bahr's successor, Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling to continue in her post, and District 4 Vice President Jeffrey Rechenbach to replace Cohen as EVP.
The three officers will run as a unity slate at next year's convention.
Tradition of Leadership Stability
Bahr, who this year marked 50 years with CWA, noted in his closing remarks that the union's leadership stability is unique within organized labor - CWA has had only three presidents in its 66-year history.
"Joe Beirne, our founding president, had the drive and the commitment to build our union from the ashes of Bell System company unionism that was declared illegal by passage of the Wagner Act," Bahr said, reviewing CWA's history for the delegates.
He described how Beirne led CWA into the mainstream of the labor movement and tenaciously pursued the goal of national bargaining with AT&T, which he lived to see in 1974 as he lay ill with cancer. Beirne died on Labor Day that year.
When Glenn Watts, Beirne's close associate and secretary-treasurer, succeeded him as president, "It was a natural transition point," Bahr said. He called the bargaining period of 1974-83 "the Golden Years," a period when CWA won major wage and benefit gains, setting the pace for the entire labor movement.
Following a court-ordered divestiture of AT&T, Bahr recalled how Watts shepherded CWA through the transition, leading legislative and legal battles to protect workers' rights resulting from the breakup. When the divestiture took effect in 1984, Watts announced that he would step down at the 1985 convention to allow for a smooth leadership transition before the next Bell bargaining round in 1986.
The Executive Board recommended that Bahr become the union's third president, and he won election at the 1985 convention as CWA prepared for another period of dramatic change in an era of intense competition and turmoil in the telecom industry.
New Organizing Thrust
In the nearly two decades under Bahr's leadership, CWA has adopted new mobilization strategies to protect jobs and preserve health benefits and other contractual gains in the embattled telecommunications field, and also broadened and intensified its organizing focus well beyond telecom as employment has declined in what once was the union's core industry.
CWA has reached out to forge mergers with such unions as the International Typographical Union, The Newspaper Guild, National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, the International Union of Electronic Workers, and most recently, the Association of Flight Attendants.
Previously as District 1 Vice President, Bahr pioneered CWA's thrust into the public sector, organizing thousands of workers in New York City and New Jersey. Expansion of those efforts has resulted in more than 100,000 members working today in public employment, health care and education. Others work in such fields as information technology, broadcast and cable TV, journalism, publishing, manufacturing and airlines.
Under Bahr's leadership, CWA has continued to set a high standard in contract bargaining with major employers, breaking ground in education benefits, more flexibility for family needs, and greater training and job access in the face of a changing job market and new technologies.
Bahr has continued CWA's tradition of active involvement in the political arena, international labor affairs and community services. Among other activities, he has chaired the Commission for a Nation of Lifelong Learners, which conducted a study in 1996-98 of continuing education needs, served as vice chair of the United Way board of governors, and is a member of the executive committee of the Democratic National Committee.
Bahr first came to CWA in 1954, when he organized his coworkers at Mackay Radio in New York, following wartime service in the Merchant Marine as a radio officer. He joined the CWA staff in 1957 as the lead organizer in the campaign that brought 24,000 New York Telephone plant workers into the union.
Bahr became New York director in 1961 and in 1963 he was named assistant to the vice president of District 1, covering New York, New England and New Jersey. He was elected District 1 vice president in 1969.
Unity Leadership Team
Larry Cohen, Bahr's recommended successor, was elected executive vice president in 1998, having formerly served as CWA organizing director and assistant to the president.
In the EVP post, Cohen is responsible for education and training, organizing, contract mobilization, health and safety, and international affairs. In 2001 he was elected president of the Telecom Sector of Union Network International, which includes 900 unions representing millions of workers in 140 countries.
Beginning as a public worker in mental health, Cohen went on to lead successful organizing drives in the 1980s that brought 40,000 New Jersey state and local government workers into CWA.
After serving on the union staff in New Jersey, Cohen went on to be the state area director and then assistant to the vice president of District 1, before coming to Washington as presidential assistant and organizing director.
Cohen built CWA's organizing program into one of the most respected in the labor movement. In the past 25 years, Cohen also has chaired over 100 contract negotiations in both public and private sectors, with major roles in SBC, Verizon and Cingular Wireless bargaining.
He developed CWA's grassroots contract mobilization program, which has become a model for many other unions. Cohen was the principal founder of Jobs with Justice, a national coalition of labor and community organizations that works on economic justice issues.
Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling became CWA's highest ranking woman when she was elected to that office in 1992, having previously served for seven years as EVP. She began her career as a telephone operator at Ohio Bell, serving as a local union officer and then as a CWA representative in Ohio before coming to CWA headquarters in 1980, initially as an assistant to the president.
Easterling is responsible for managing CWA's finances and office facilities, as well as directing government relations efforts and retiree programs. She is head of Union Network International's World Women's Committee, an executive committee member of the Democratic National Committee and is an advocate for many community service programs.
Jeffrey Rechenbach has served since 1994 as vice president for District 4, headquartered in Cleveland and covering Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. His responsibilities include coordinating collective bargaining at SBC/Ameritech, Verizon, Sprint and other employers and directing union services and programs for 105,000 CWA members.
Rechenbach started his career working for Ohio Bell in 1971 and two years later became president of his local in Cleveland at age 19. He joined the union staff in 1981 and was appointed assistant to the former district vice president in 1993.
Rechenbach is active in a wide range of community service and civic organizations and in Democratic politics, having served on the party's Platform Committee in 1996 and 2000.
As the 66th convention drew to a close, President Morton Bahr's announcement that he will not seek reelection next year took delegates by surprise - and prompted a prolonged standing ovation and cheers of "Mor-tee, Mor-tee."
Bahr, who has led the union since 1985, said, "Although I make this announcement today, I fully intend to be your president every single day for the next year. Nothing will change until the moment I hand over the gavel to my successor. I continue to look forward to visiting with you at meetings around the country."
Bahr's term and those of other national officers will expire at the August 2005 convention, to be held in Chicago.
After the convention adjourned, the CWA Executive Board unanimously endorsed Bahr's recommendation for a new top leadership team of Executive Vice President Larry Cohen as Bahr's successor, Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling to continue in her post, and District 4 Vice President Jeffrey Rechenbach to replace Cohen as EVP.
The three officers will run as a unity slate at next year's convention.
Tradition of Leadership Stability
Bahr, who this year marked 50 years with CWA, noted in his closing remarks that the union's leadership stability is unique within organized labor - CWA has had only three presidents in its 66-year history.
"Joe Beirne, our founding president, had the drive and the commitment to build our union from the ashes of Bell System company unionism that was declared illegal by passage of the Wagner Act," Bahr said, reviewing CWA's history for the delegates.
He described how Beirne led CWA into the mainstream of the labor movement and tenaciously pursued the goal of national bargaining with AT&T, which he lived to see in 1974 as he lay ill with cancer. Beirne died on Labor Day that year.
When Glenn Watts, Beirne's close associate and secretary-treasurer, succeeded him as president, "It was a natural transition point," Bahr said. He called the bargaining period of 1974-83 "the Golden Years," a period when CWA won major wage and benefit gains, setting the pace for the entire labor movement.
Following a court-ordered divestiture of AT&T, Bahr recalled how Watts shepherded CWA through the transition, leading legislative and legal battles to protect workers' rights resulting from the breakup. When the divestiture took effect in 1984, Watts announced that he would step down at the 1985 convention to allow for a smooth leadership transition before the next Bell bargaining round in 1986.
The Executive Board recommended that Bahr become the union's third president, and he won election at the 1985 convention as CWA prepared for another period of dramatic change in an era of intense competition and turmoil in the telecom industry.
New Organizing Thrust
In the nearly two decades under Bahr's leadership, CWA has adopted new mobilization strategies to protect jobs and preserve health benefits and other contractual gains in the embattled telecommunications field, and also broadened and intensified its organizing focus well beyond telecom as employment has declined in what once was the union's core industry.
CWA has reached out to forge mergers with such unions as the International Typographical Union, The Newspaper Guild, National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, the International Union of Electronic Workers, and most recently, the Association of Flight Attendants.
Previously as District 1 Vice President, Bahr pioneered CWA's thrust into the public sector, organizing thousands of workers in New York City and New Jersey. Expansion of those efforts has resulted in more than 100,000 members working today in public employment, health care and education. Others work in such fields as information technology, broadcast and cable TV, journalism, publishing, manufacturing and airlines.
Under Bahr's leadership, CWA has continued to set a high standard in contract bargaining with major employers, breaking ground in education benefits, more flexibility for family needs, and greater training and job access in the face of a changing job market and new technologies.
Bahr has continued CWA's tradition of active involvement in the political arena, international labor affairs and community services. Among other activities, he has chaired the Commission for a Nation of Lifelong Learners, which conducted a study in 1996-98 of continuing education needs, served as vice chair of the United Way board of governors, and is a member of the executive committee of the Democratic National Committee.
Bahr first came to CWA in 1954, when he organized his coworkers at Mackay Radio in New York, following wartime service in the Merchant Marine as a radio officer. He joined the CWA staff in 1957 as the lead organizer in the campaign that brought 24,000 New York Telephone plant workers into the union.
Bahr became New York director in 1961 and in 1963 he was named assistant to the vice president of District 1, covering New York, New England and New Jersey. He was elected District 1 vice president in 1969.
Unity Leadership Team
Larry Cohen, Bahr's recommended successor, was elected executive vice president in 1998, having formerly served as CWA organizing director and assistant to the president.
In the EVP post, Cohen is responsible for education and training, organizing, contract mobilization, health and safety, and international affairs. In 2001 he was elected president of the Telecom Sector of Union Network International, which includes 900 unions representing millions of workers in 140 countries.
Beginning as a public worker in mental health, Cohen went on to lead successful organizing drives in the 1980s that brought 40,000 New Jersey state and local government workers into CWA.
After serving on the union staff in New Jersey, Cohen went on to be the state area director and then assistant to the vice president of District 1, before coming to Washington as presidential assistant and organizing director.
Cohen built CWA's organizing program into one of the most respected in the labor movement. In the past 25 years, Cohen also has chaired over 100 contract negotiations in both public and private sectors, with major roles in SBC, Verizon and Cingular Wireless bargaining.
He developed CWA's grassroots contract mobilization program, which has become a model for many other unions. Cohen was the principal founder of Jobs with Justice, a national coalition of labor and community organizations that works on economic justice issues.
Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling became CWA's highest ranking woman when she was elected to that office in 1992, having previously served for seven years as EVP. She began her career as a telephone operator at Ohio Bell, serving as a local union officer and then as a CWA representative in Ohio before coming to CWA headquarters in 1980, initially as an assistant to the president.
Easterling is responsible for managing CWA's finances and office facilities, as well as directing government relations efforts and retiree programs. She is head of Union Network International's World Women's Committee, an executive committee member of the Democratic National Committee and is an advocate for many community service programs.
Jeffrey Rechenbach has served since 1994 as vice president for District 4, headquartered in Cleveland and covering Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. His responsibilities include coordinating collective bargaining at SBC/Ameritech, Verizon, Sprint and other employers and directing union services and programs for 105,000 CWA members.
Rechenbach started his career working for Ohio Bell in 1971 and two years later became president of his local in Cleveland at age 19. He joined the union staff in 1981 and was appointed assistant to the former district vice president in 1993.
Rechenbach is active in a wide range of community service and civic organizations and in Democratic politics, having served on the party's Platform Committee in 1996 and 2000.