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Glenn Watts Dies, Headed Telecom Union in National Bell System Bargaining
Washington, D.C. – Glenn E. Watts, who led the Communications Workers of America from 1974 until his retirement in 1985, died Friday, August 30, at Sibley Hospital in Washington, D.C., after suffering complications from surgery. He was 82.
During his tenure as president, CWA’s national contact bargaining with the AT&T Bell system, covering more than 500,000 telecom workers every three years, was the largest set of labor negotiations in the country. The ATT phone monopoly was broken apart by a consent decree in 1983.
Morton Bahr, who succeeded Watts and is the current president of CWA, said, “Glenn Watts showed that a labor leader could be a gentleman and speak softly and yet be as tough as they come in standing up for working people. He presided over the golden age of workers in the Bell system, but when the big breakup came, Glenn had the vision to help guide us toward the many changes we would have to make in the new information age.”
While president of CWA, headquartered in Washington, D.C., Watts served as a vice president of the AFL-CIO. Active in international labor affairs, Watts also headed the worldwide federation of telephone and postal workers. He gave many years of service to local and national United Way operations and served as chairman of the board of governors of the United Way of America.
He was active in national and local Democratic politics and was a member of the Democratic National Committee. President Jimmy Carter considered Watts “one of my best personal friends who had confidence in me very early on” and often sought Watts’ advice and support. Watts joined President Carter at a meeting with the late Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat as part of Carter’s Middle East peace-making efforts.
Watts also served as a trustee for the Ford Foundation, as a member of the Tri-Lateral Commission and as a member of the Aspen Institute.
His passion for peace took shape through the Glenn E. Watts Cultural Center in Jerusalem, a project that encouraged understanding between Jewish and Arab members of Histadrut, Israel’s labor federation. The center, established in 1985, offered cultural, social and educational activities for Jewish and Arab families.
He also served on the National Holocaust Memorial Commission and spent much time raising funds for the museum and its library in Washington, D.C.
A native of Stony Point, N.C., Watts moved to Washington, D.C., to attend Wilson Teachers College. In 1941, he went to work as an installer for the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co. and was active in the union. Watts held several elected offices, from local union president to secretary-treasurer of the national union prior to his election as CWA’s second president in 1974.
He is survived by his wife Bernice, his daughter Sharon Perlmutter and two children; his daughter Marianne Erickson, son-in-law Mark and three children; and daughter-in-law June Wood and two children. Watts’ son, Glenn, died in 1997.
A memorial service will be scheduled.
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During his tenure as president, CWA’s national contact bargaining with the AT&T Bell system, covering more than 500,000 telecom workers every three years, was the largest set of labor negotiations in the country. The ATT phone monopoly was broken apart by a consent decree in 1983.
Morton Bahr, who succeeded Watts and is the current president of CWA, said, “Glenn Watts showed that a labor leader could be a gentleman and speak softly and yet be as tough as they come in standing up for working people. He presided over the golden age of workers in the Bell system, but when the big breakup came, Glenn had the vision to help guide us toward the many changes we would have to make in the new information age.”
While president of CWA, headquartered in Washington, D.C., Watts served as a vice president of the AFL-CIO. Active in international labor affairs, Watts also headed the worldwide federation of telephone and postal workers. He gave many years of service to local and national United Way operations and served as chairman of the board of governors of the United Way of America.
He was active in national and local Democratic politics and was a member of the Democratic National Committee. President Jimmy Carter considered Watts “one of my best personal friends who had confidence in me very early on” and often sought Watts’ advice and support. Watts joined President Carter at a meeting with the late Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat as part of Carter’s Middle East peace-making efforts.
Watts also served as a trustee for the Ford Foundation, as a member of the Tri-Lateral Commission and as a member of the Aspen Institute.
His passion for peace took shape through the Glenn E. Watts Cultural Center in Jerusalem, a project that encouraged understanding between Jewish and Arab members of Histadrut, Israel’s labor federation. The center, established in 1985, offered cultural, social and educational activities for Jewish and Arab families.
He also served on the National Holocaust Memorial Commission and spent much time raising funds for the museum and its library in Washington, D.C.
A native of Stony Point, N.C., Watts moved to Washington, D.C., to attend Wilson Teachers College. In 1941, he went to work as an installer for the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co. and was active in the union. Watts held several elected offices, from local union president to secretary-treasurer of the national union prior to his election as CWA’s second president in 1974.
He is survived by his wife Bernice, his daughter Sharon Perlmutter and two children; his daughter Marianne Erickson, son-in-law Mark and three children; and daughter-in-law June Wood and two children. Watts’ son, Glenn, died in 1997.
A memorial service will be scheduled.
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