Monday, February 09, 2004
This is interesting:
John Wilhelm's Eulogy for Vinnie Sirabella
Vinnie had great vision. He knew long before most of us that our Union needed to recruit a new breed of organizers. He pushed to build our sophisticated corporate research group. In recent years, he worked to develop our relationships with Unions in other countnes, as our industry became increasingly internationalized.
This remarkable set of talents enabled Vinnie to accomplish things which seemed impossible. I think of the 1971 strike by Local 35 at Yale, a resounding victory for the Union, in what turned into a nationally known civil rights struggle. He literally carried that strike on his back, standing up to an incredibly wealthy and powerful employer that no one in Connecticut had ever successfully challenged. He united Union members who had never stuck together before: skilled tradesmen, dining hall workers, custodians, groundskeepers-Italian, Irish, Polish, black-men and women.
During caucuses in those arduous negotiations, Vinnie had to lie flat on his back on the floor, because the pain in his bad back was so intense he often couldn't stand up. He carried that strike because of the sheer force of his personality. He inspired those workers by his oratory and his commitment. He led them in a memorable march down the middle of Elm Street during Yale's commencement. He was the first of many of us beaten that day by the police and hauled off to jail.
The result, which no one but Vinnie thought possible, was a great victory-an extraordinary contract-and a revived Union. To this day, Vinnie is revered by the veterans of Local 35. It is gratifying -- but not at all a surpnse -- to see so many rank and file members of Local 35 and Local 34 here today, as well as Local 217.
I think, too, of the general strike he organized in New Haven in 1975, in response to a local judge jailing nearly 100 members of the Teachers' Union, because they went on strike.
Vinnie insisted that in his town we could not tolerate anyone going to jail for striking. As President of the Central Labor Council, he brought together all the diverse and often disagreeing parts of our movement. He gave one of the finest speeches I had ever heard, reminding us how the labor movement was built. We can't permit anyone to go to jail for stnking, he said, or else we will be next.
I don't think there had been a general strike in the U.S. for several decades-he put it together. We were set to go, all over town, for noon on a Tuesday Because the threat was real, the Board of Education settled and the teachers were freed.
Smash Yale-[ comments.]
John Wilhelm's Eulogy for Vinnie Sirabella
Vinnie had great vision. He knew long before most of us that our Union needed to recruit a new breed of organizers. He pushed to build our sophisticated corporate research group. In recent years, he worked to develop our relationships with Unions in other countnes, as our industry became increasingly internationalized.
This remarkable set of talents enabled Vinnie to accomplish things which seemed impossible. I think of the 1971 strike by Local 35 at Yale, a resounding victory for the Union, in what turned into a nationally known civil rights struggle. He literally carried that strike on his back, standing up to an incredibly wealthy and powerful employer that no one in Connecticut had ever successfully challenged. He united Union members who had never stuck together before: skilled tradesmen, dining hall workers, custodians, groundskeepers-Italian, Irish, Polish, black-men and women.
During caucuses in those arduous negotiations, Vinnie had to lie flat on his back on the floor, because the pain in his bad back was so intense he often couldn't stand up. He carried that strike because of the sheer force of his personality. He inspired those workers by his oratory and his commitment. He led them in a memorable march down the middle of Elm Street during Yale's commencement. He was the first of many of us beaten that day by the police and hauled off to jail.
The result, which no one but Vinnie thought possible, was a great victory-an extraordinary contract-and a revived Union. To this day, Vinnie is revered by the veterans of Local 35. It is gratifying -- but not at all a surpnse -- to see so many rank and file members of Local 35 and Local 34 here today, as well as Local 217.
I think, too, of the general strike he organized in New Haven in 1975, in response to a local judge jailing nearly 100 members of the Teachers' Union, because they went on strike.
Vinnie insisted that in his town we could not tolerate anyone going to jail for striking. As President of the Central Labor Council, he brought together all the diverse and often disagreeing parts of our movement. He gave one of the finest speeches I had ever heard, reminding us how the labor movement was built. We can't permit anyone to go to jail for stnking, he said, or else we will be next.
I don't think there had been a general strike in the U.S. for several decades-he put it together. We were set to go, all over town, for noon on a Tuesday Because the threat was real, the Board of Education settled and the teachers were freed.
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