Massachusetts Nurse | September 2004

Alex Neary named "Labor Person of the Year" by Berkshire Central Labor Council

The Berkshire Central Labor Council will honor Alex Neary, RN, MNA member and bargaining unit chairperson—with its "Labor Person of the Year Award" next month in recognition of her dedication to the bargaining unit at Berkshire Medical Center (BMC), as well as for all of her contributions to Berkshire County’s larger labor movement.

Neary was selected as this year's award recipient after being nominated by a Kathy Cimini—a BMC colleague who also represents the MNA at Labor Council meetings. "For more than 20 years, Alex has been faithfully involved with the bargaining unit at BMC," said Cimini, who also works with Neary as the co-chair of their MNA bargaining unit. "She is both a devoted and skilled union representative and she possesses a number of talents that led the Labor Council to select her as this year's honoree, including her unique ability to analyze a contract in ways that other people can't; her complete dedication to doing what is fair and just on behalf of every union member; and her amazing ability to take past union experiences and apply them to current situations. She epitomizes everything that the Labor Council’s award represents."

In addition to these attributes, representatives from the Labor Council said that Neary's activism during the 1981 BMC strike and her involvement with the MNA's safe staffing campaign made her a true and undeniable friend of the labor movement.

Neary will receive her award at the Labor Council's nineteenth annual Labor-Legislative Breakfast on Oct. 24 at 8:30 a.m. at the ITAM Lodge, 93 Waubeek Road, Pittsfield. Congressman John Olver will be the event's keynote speaker and Remo DelGallo, former mayor of Pittsfield, will be the master of ceremonies. The Berkshire Central Labor Council is the county's largest AFL-CIO body, and it functions as an umbrella group to more than 23 local labor organizations. The Labor Council's mission includes:

• Organizing grassroots political action to push for adoption of worker-friendly initiatives and policies on a national, state and local level.
• Recruiting and supporting candidates who champion working families and a pro-active working families' agenda.
• Organizing in support of economic development strategies for local public investment that create jobs while establishing worker friendly community standards such as living wages, responsible employer ordinances and project labor agreements.
• Hosting forums and events to educate union members and the community about worker-related issues and legislation. For more information or to purchase tickets to this event, contact Mike Philpi at 413.442.1970, x12.