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Top CWA Lawyer Patrick Scanlon Retires
Patrick M. Scanlon, credited with winning a $60 million maternity leave settlement on behalf of workers at Western Electric, has retired as CWA general counsel. Scanlon, only the third general counsel in CWA's history, has devoted his entire legal career to organized labor and its members.
"Patrick is dedicated, as we all are, to workers' rights and winning economic and social justice for working families, and he's devoted a lifetime of service to our movement," said CWA President Larry Cohen, honoring him at the 68th CWA convention in August. Scanlon served for many years as the convention's parliamentarian, ruling on complicated procedural issues and ensuring fairness in the conduct of the union's business.
"Thank you, Pat, on behalf of all of the members of CWA that you have helped and fought for over the years," Cohen said. "Thank you for your wise counsel, your friendship, your ability to get us out of trouble, and most of all, for your commitment to the members of our great union."
Scanlon, a graduate of the University of Florida, in 1968 received his law degree from the Stetson College of Law. He immediately entered the practice of labor and employment law, specializing in the representation of unions and employees, with the firm of which he eventually became president and that bore his name: Adair, Scanlon and McHugh, with offices in Atlanta, Ga., and Washington, D.C.
In 1980, he became associate general counsel for CWA in District 3 in Atlanta. In 1986, he was named general counsel by then-CWA President Morton Bahr and moved to CWA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
As CWA general counsel, Scanlon put together a nationwide team of attorneys to handle cases arising from CWA's district offices and handpicked the entire legal staff at CWA headquarters. One of his picks, Mary K. O'Melveny, will succeed him.
Scanlon advised CWA's leaders on matters ranging from the legal conduct of strikes, to details in employment contracts covering tens of thousands of workers, to the handling of grievances and arbitrations.
He considers his greatest achievement the settlement of a class action suit brought by CWA against Western Electric, the manufacturing subsidiary of the old AT&T. The $60 million dollar settlement in 1991 brought acknowledgment by the company that it had discriminated against female workers by denying them disability leave and service credit for time taken off before and immediately after delivery of a baby. Hundreds of women received back pay and seniority credit as a result of the suit.
In addition to his duties at CWA, Scanlon has served on the board of directors of the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee and the Lawyers Advisory Panel, a committee of general counsels of major AFL-CIO unions.
He is a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and has served as co-chair of the American Bar Association Law Section Council's Equal Employment Opportunity and International Labor Law committees.
"I've always felt it a great honor to be a union lawyer, and having CWA as a client is probably the greatest honor a union lawyer can enjoy," Scanlon said.
He plans to open a practice specializing in arbitration law in early 2006.
"Patrick is dedicated, as we all are, to workers' rights and winning economic and social justice for working families, and he's devoted a lifetime of service to our movement," said CWA President Larry Cohen, honoring him at the 68th CWA convention in August. Scanlon served for many years as the convention's parliamentarian, ruling on complicated procedural issues and ensuring fairness in the conduct of the union's business.
"Thank you, Pat, on behalf of all of the members of CWA that you have helped and fought for over the years," Cohen said. "Thank you for your wise counsel, your friendship, your ability to get us out of trouble, and most of all, for your commitment to the members of our great union."
Scanlon, a graduate of the University of Florida, in 1968 received his law degree from the Stetson College of Law. He immediately entered the practice of labor and employment law, specializing in the representation of unions and employees, with the firm of which he eventually became president and that bore his name: Adair, Scanlon and McHugh, with offices in Atlanta, Ga., and Washington, D.C.
In 1980, he became associate general counsel for CWA in District 3 in Atlanta. In 1986, he was named general counsel by then-CWA President Morton Bahr and moved to CWA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
As CWA general counsel, Scanlon put together a nationwide team of attorneys to handle cases arising from CWA's district offices and handpicked the entire legal staff at CWA headquarters. One of his picks, Mary K. O'Melveny, will succeed him.
Scanlon advised CWA's leaders on matters ranging from the legal conduct of strikes, to details in employment contracts covering tens of thousands of workers, to the handling of grievances and arbitrations.
He considers his greatest achievement the settlement of a class action suit brought by CWA against Western Electric, the manufacturing subsidiary of the old AT&T. The $60 million dollar settlement in 1991 brought acknowledgment by the company that it had discriminated against female workers by denying them disability leave and service credit for time taken off before and immediately after delivery of a baby. Hundreds of women received back pay and seniority credit as a result of the suit.
In addition to his duties at CWA, Scanlon has served on the board of directors of the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee and the Lawyers Advisory Panel, a committee of general counsels of major AFL-CIO unions.
He is a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and has served as co-chair of the American Bar Association Law Section Council's Equal Employment Opportunity and International Labor Law committees.
"I've always felt it a great honor to be a union lawyer, and having CWA as a client is probably the greatest honor a union lawyer can enjoy," Scanlon said.
He plans to open a practice specializing in arbitration law in early 2006.