ANNE GENEVIEVE MARINO
Every member of this Union for the past 20 years owes a debt to Anne, although most people never would have heard her name or known how important she was to them.
The reality is that the administration of a union district is challenging, filled with complex tasks required by law, demanded by our own guidelines or necessary for the work we hope to accomplish on behalf of the membership. Many members come into contact with their local lodge leadership, or a Business Representative from the District, or the leaders of the District who head up negotiations, speak to the media and work to keep our organization moving in the right direction.
What few would see was at the heart of that complex, demanding, often nerve-wracking process was a small, diligent woman who carried out her work with intelligence, skill and dedication. That was Anne Marino.
In a typical contract negotiations with United Technologies Corporation, for instance, Anne was invaluable. She tracked and sent out required notices about the upcoming termination of the agreement, worked a myriad of IAM Negotiating Committee proposals into huge contract books for every member of both the union’s and management’s negotiating teams, took notes at every session between the parties, typed and copied change after change to the contract language as negotiations continued, and kept track of those changes so nothing was lost or misunderstood, helped summarize the proposed contract for membership review and even designed the ballots used by members to vote on the agreement.
That was just one example of the wide-ranging nature of Anne’s duties and abilities, which she performed with an expertise and commitment that looked so natural it was easy to under-appreciate their value, and that we now will sorely miss.
But we will miss more than that. Anne was our friend, a person who often asked about family members and was glad for their success and truly sorry for their travails. Anne knew how to laugh, how to give a jibe as well as take one, but never with rancor or ill-will.
Anne was a worrier. She worried about the future – her job, her retirement, the survival of IAM District 26 and our members, what would happen to our country as a whole. That anxiousness was predicated on love, and her hope that despite all the odds, things would turn out all right. There were many times when she felt that simply would not be the case, and the worry weighed heavily on her heart.
Despite it all, she did her work in a way that was an example to us all. She was always on time, and never left before 5 PM, even when she would be the last remaining person in the office and the phones had stopped ringing. When emergencies arose, as they did too often in dealings with UTC, she knew what was needed, and when asked to do additional tasks, did so without a moment’s hesitation or complaint.
Against all odds, IAM District 26, for the second time in recent years, beat UTC in court on the issue of moving our work out of state. A small team did the work that supported our membership in winning that victory. The leaders, the lawyers and others received public appreciation. But one key member of that team would never allow such public acknowledgements; Anne simply wanted to do her job.
We are shocked, and sad beyond words at her passing. We mourn her as an invaluable co-worker and friend, a sister to us both as a union member and as a member of our office “family.” Our sincere, heartfelt sympathies go out to her loved ones.
Finally, we can only hope that Anne knew how much her work, her dedication, her friendship meant to those of us who worked with her. We will miss you, Anne, and thank you with all our hearts for a life of service to this union.