I Thought This Was A Good Suiting Post From The ATU President

Remembering Joe Owens -IP Larry Hanley
ATU — STATEN ISLAND, NY (6/6)

We Have Enough Fights without Fighting Each Other

There are enough fights for us to take on with enemies of the Union. We don’t need to fight each other. More than any other time in our lives, Labor is under attack. As your international president it is frustrating to watch some hard working local officers under constant attack by people in their own local union.

We are democratic and our union halls are where we have our debates. Sometimes we take our debates too far, to the point that we disrupt the ability of our Union to function.

Recently, as I contemplated various internal squabbles in the ATU, I received the sad news that an old friend of mine, Joe Owens, had passed away. I had come to value Joe’s friendship greatly over the years, especially since we hadn’t started out that way.

Joe had served as an officer of Local 726 in Staten Island, NY, for 18 years when I showed up. I was new and had new ideas. We strongly disagreed about many things and debated each other loudly in an internal struggle that went on for years. Those debates continued when we served together as executive board members.


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- Visitation and Funeral Arrangements -


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Grace of a Champion

In 1987, we ran against each other for president. In a four-way race that I won, Joe Owens was defeated. He left office, not my best friend, but with the grace of a champion.

Some years went by and it was time for Joe to retire from the MTA. On his last day, we held a party in the crew room of Yukon Depot. Joe and I still had sharp disagreements, but his speech that day will stay with me forever.



ALWAYS Support Your Union

He stood before our members, a beloved retiring officer, and told all present, “No matter what you think about an issue or any position an officer takes, ALWAYS support your union.”

Joe left the ranks of our active membership telling his lifelong supporters that what brings a union together will always be greater than what divides it. He taught us all what it means to love the union and put the members above any petty disputes.

Eventually Joe became one of my biggest supporters, and I, for my part, learned an important lesson about being gracious – a quality of inestimable value for the smooth functioning of any local union.

Not because he always agreed with me, but because in his wisdom Joe knew that while we all have a contribution to make, our members decide elections, and we must respect their decisions. That’s a lesson we can all learn. I did.