The family of Ron Carey wish to extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation to all those who honored and paid their respects to Ron. Our loss is overwhelming as well as yours. Your kind words and thoughts of Ron on the 804 Members United and TDU websites touched all our hearts, as well as the kind and loving thoughts from those who attended his services. Life without him will be unimaginable. He will forever be in all our hearts.
We are sure Ron was looking down at all the TRUE TEAMSTERS and friends that had the courage and loyalty to pay their respects from across the country. But especially the brothers and sisters from the local that always was number one in his thoughts, fights and heart–LOCAL 804– and telling you all to never forget what can be achieved by standing united and standing up for your rights. And reminding all of you that your union officials should always be “PUTTTING THE MEMBERS FIRST”.
We especially like to thank Tim Sylvester and Jim Reynolds for all they have done through our time of sorrow and for all they done in the past, as well as the other members of 804 Members United who are too many to mention, for keeping Ron’s name and beliefs alive and not giving in to the “OLD GUARD”. May God bless you and your families through this New Year.
Former Local 804 President and Teamsters General President Ron Carey was laid to rest on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 after a funeral service at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament.
Ron’s sons remembered their father as a fighter who went out strong.
Near the end of the service, Ron’s ten year-old grandson, Danny, rose to speak. Danny said: “I wasn’t born yet when my grandfather was President of the Teamsters Union. From watching videos, I can see what an inspiration he was. In 1997, Bill Clinton told my grandfather to stop the UPS strike. My grandfather said “No” to the President of the United States, because he had to do what was right for his people. I think the reason my grandfather wasn’t President of the Teamsters longer is because a man as honest and courageous as him could not be allowed to be President of the Union.”
You could hear a pin drop. And then Teamsters and family members alike exploded in applause that went on and on as tears welled up in the eyes of many of the Local 804 members in attendance.
The Carey family extended its thanks to the Teamster brothers and sisters who came from across the country to honor Ron over the last few days, including the many Local 804 members and retirees who paid their respects.
In his eulogy, Father Bob called Ron Carey a true American Hero and said our job is to carry on his legacy in our own lives.
Amen.
Click here to download this article in leaflet form.
Our brother, leader and friend Ron Carey passed away on Thursday night at the age of 72. The man who built Local 804 into the most powerful local in the country and who transformed our International Union and the labor movement is no more. But his legacy lives on.
Ron is survived by his wife of more than fifty years, Barbara Carey; their five children, Daniel Carey, Ronald Carey, Sandra Perrone, Pamela Casabarro, and Barbara Marchese; and 13 grandchildren.
May God bless Ron Carey and his family in this tragic time of his passing.
Ron Carey was remembered by the major media today as a legendary labor leader who fought union corruption, challenged corporate America, and mobilized Teamster members to reform our union.
Click here to read the Washington Post article: Ron Carey: Reformer Who Led Teamsters, Fought Corruption.
Click here to read the New York Times article: Ron Carey Who Led Teamster Reforms, Dies at 72
We have posted remembrances of Ron here on the site and we will continue to update this information. Please check back. Click here to send your personal remembrance.
Tim Sylvester, Shop Steward, Long Island City
Ron Carey was taken too early, not just with his death, but he was taken from us ten years ago by a system that didn’t allow anyone as good as he was to remain in power in our union.
He knew that it was time to change the way unions operated, to create strategies that could beat corporate greed by empowering rank-and-file members and involving our families in the labor movement. He was a threat to Corporate America and to old guard Teamster officials who feared him because he threatened their bottom line and made them look impotent in comparison.
To those of us who knew him he was Ron or Ronnie. To some in the union he was “the General President” or “Mr. Carey.” How jarring that was the first time I heard it, because here in Local 804 he was one of us.
We are all better for having known him.
God had certainly blessed the members of Local 804 for all the years that our friend and leader spent with us.
I miss him already and I am not ashamed to say I loved him. He was my friend.
Pat Pagnanella, Secretary-Treasurer Local 804 (retired)
Union workers have lost one of the greatest leaders in the labor movement. It was an honor and a pleasure to work alongside Ron Carey as his Secretary-Treasurer and as a very close friend for many years.
Ron was a very honorable man who accomplished many improvements as well as the best contracts during his administration for union members.
Ron will truly be missed by myself as well as many other people. I extend my thoughts and prayers to his family.
Tom Leedham, Secretary-Treasurer, Local 206
Under Ron Carey, Local 804 was one of the most powerful Teamster locals in the country. Teamsters across the country looked up to Local 804 as an example of what our union could be: militant with employers, uncompromising on corruption, committed to putting members first.
As our General President, Ron put the same principles to work with the same record of success, including winning the UPS strike, organized labor’s biggest victory in my lifetime.
At Local 206, we still proudly post the newspaper clipping that announced Carey’s vindication. We miss his leadership and try to follow his example.
Ron Carey was a fighter who stuck to his principles. I know he was proud of the many Local 804 members who do the same.
Tom Leedham served as an International Vice President and as the Warehouse Division Director under Ron Carey.
Jim Reynolds, Alternate Shop Steward, Elmsford
RON CAREY TEAMSTER. I have been honored in the most profound way by simply being this man’s friend. You see I remember Ron not as Mr. President, but just as Ronnie. I know he would have wanted us all to know that this Union and all of the labor movement is not about one man; it never has, and it simply never can be. It is about All of us. That is what a union is about. The enduring fight for the most basic rights: a fair wage and a decent living– nothing spectacular– just fairness itself. We have all lost a Leader and I have lost a friend. We can go on by remembering not only his words , but his example. He has left it to us to follow….
Kenneth C. Crowe, Newsday Reporter
On the day Ron Carey was elected president of the Teamsters in 1991, I rode with him in a cab interviewing him all the way from downtown Washington to the airport. After we were dropped off, we realized we were in the wrong terminal. Carey picked up his two heavy bags–refusing my offer to carry one of them-and we ran (literally) to the right terminal.
That scene sums up Carey: self-effacing and ambitious. Most individuals having been elected to head the most powerful union in the nation would have had flunkies carry them (remember Jackie Presser) along with his baggage to the right terminal. And, one has to be enormously ambitious to run for General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Read more…
Pete Mastrandrea, Nassau Feeder Department
Ron Carey, although you are gone from this earth you will never be forgotten, this I promise you. Your contribution to the labor movement can only be described as greatness. Never was there, and never will there be, a leader equal to you. I am extremely proud to have had the opportunity to work with you for over 29 years in Local 804 as a shop steward and in the International as a trustee.
You are a true friend and will always be a mentor to myself and to others who admired you. We will surely miss you, and say farewell with hope and belief that someday we shall meet again. My prayers and thoughts are with the members of the Carey family. May God give you strength.
Liam Russertt, Shop Steward, Long Island City
I remember the first time I heard Ron Carey speak to the rank and file at a general membership meeting. I was there with my father, who retired from UPS. Ron spoke with such conviction and power that your soul would rise from your belly and force a cheer from your mouth! He would shout about all the problems we were going to face and then reassure you that we would get through them; and we did with his support! I watched my dad cheer and felt what it was like to be part of a brotherhood, to be a Teamster! Ron has continually inspired me to somehow find the courage to get through the tough times. I will miss him dearly and hope to live up to be even half the man he was.
William R. Riley Fernandez, 43rd Street
A human being like Ron Carey is hard to come by. He had the valor to take on UPS greed and Union corruption. He was the heart, the engine that inspired the Rank & File who admired him so much. Our Local 804 lost its moral compass once Ron was no longer able to be our voice. Yet even though away he was close to us. Just knowing he was alive and supporting our cause for the greater good gave us hope for a better future.
He taught us that it is not what we do for us but what we can achieve for future generations. Because of Ron Carey I have a full-time job. He was a giant among us and his name will echo in the halls of Teamster and Labor history for decades and decades to come.
Finally I want to add what my friend and brother Pat Gambino wrote in honor of our beloved Ron…”Ron Carey,Warrior for the common man, selfless hero, forever in our hearts.” My deepest sympathy to his wife, children, grandchildren, family in general and close friends. LET’S CAREY ON HIS LEGACY!
Ken Reiman, Nassau (”Local 804 Agitator”)
Working Class Hero
Ron Carey (Ronnie) was a working-class guy who never forgot the working-class he was born into. He was a great union leader who never kept a distance from the Rank-and-File; he was of the Rank-and-File. He took on the corrupt Teamster leadership by speaking for the “Forgotten Teamster.”
By working tirelessly hard and having strong principles, Ron Carey drew an enormous following of reformers and rose through the ranks to the top of the Teamsters Union. Along the way, he made us proud to be in a union. Proud to be a Teamster. Proud to be in Local 804! Every Teamster owes a great deal to this man!
Under current circumstances, all that has obviously changed. But it is up to all of us…the Rank-and-File…to get that feeling back.
Ron Carey was an honest union reformer who fought Teamster corruption, lead a successful strike against UPS and rescued the labor movement. For the sin of actually “Putting Members First”, he was taken down by the powerful in this country.
Some of the union officials have forgotten this….the Rank-and-File have not!
Ken Spillane, Local 804 Vice President (Retired)
I joined local 804 in June of 1960 and worked out of the old Queens North building. We were known as the Queens North Marines. My Shop Steward was Ron Carey who was extremely helpful in getting me my seniority. As I got to know Ron I realized how much he really cared for the members he represented and the whole local union.
In 1967 he took a third chance at running for union office and I was lucky enough to run with him. We were called (by the imcumbents) the young misfits. We won and Ron went on to become the greatest local union leader and yes even the greatest “Teamster General President” ever. He was taken down by a corrupt group who manufactured lies about him. The U.S. government wanted to make a
deal with Ron instead of going to trial. He refused and went to trial to be found “Not Guilty.”
There is so much more I could tell you about Ron Carey, Local 804 and the Teamsters but space prevents that. The Teamsters lost a tremendous fighter and labor leader. I will miss him
dearly and so will the labor movement.
Martin Cruz, Long Island City
It was such an honor to be a Teamster with Ron as our leader. You wanted people to know that you were. (Ask me today if I care.) This is how I remember Ron: The excitement you felt when you knew he was coming to your building, this he did quite often. If you had an issue, he would listen to you, eye to eye, always showing interest. I am one very lucky person to have known Ron Carey.
Dennis C. Skelton, International Vice President (1991-1996)
Ron Carey was the most progressive labor leader of the last 50 years. He used his courage, strength and wisdom to create a vision and plan to thrust the Teamsters to the forefront of the labor movement during his tenure. Part of his great legacy will be the UPS strike where great gains went to the members. He was not lacking of stones. I remember that he gave the Executive Board members tie bars that had the letters “YCDBSOYA” on them. As the letters appeared to be a Russian word to me, I asked “what does this mean.” Carey replied, “You Can’t Do Business Sitting On Your Ass.” That was how he was - that made him what he was.
On a personal note, Ron Carey gave me strength, courage, and wise counsel at every juncture. Through good times and bad - I never had to worry about looking around and not seeing him standing strong. He gave me an opportunity of a life time to be part of his administration and made sure I was surrounded with quality people at all times. I said it before in the New York Times Magazine and I will say it again, “I would have walked to hell and back wearing gasoline drawers for that man,” and I meant every word.
So to my friend, my mentor, and my leader - a sincere farewell - but rest assured you will live on forever in the minds and actions of so many of us that you touched so deeply.
Aaron Belk, International Vice President (1991-1998)
Ron Carey was what every leader should aspire to be. He was honest. He was frugal. And he was a caring man. Ron Carey did not like being in the limelight. He regretted the time he had to spend away from his family, of which he spoke often, and loved dearly. His time with us was special.
Ron Carey was a fighter. When no one else would step forward . . . Ron Carey did. I was honored to work with him and proud to fight with him through many of those battles.
The members of Local 804 were truly blessed to have Ron Carey as their President. He spoke of 804 with pride and no other local throughout the Teamsters could ever measure up to 804. He loved his 804 members.
I don’t have to tell you what a ‘fiery’ speaker he could be. But I will share a memory of a speech he made to the National Press Club in Washington D.C. following the successful UPS strike. The room was filled with a couple of hundred media and political types. They probably expected Ron to focus on the success of the outcome of the strike. But he stunned them all when he took the opportunity to chastise some political and media members that were present. He said at one point in his speech . . . People elect politicians to come to Washington to represent them. Once these politicians get here they forget the people. They represent the lobbyist and Corporate America. Those politicians should wear the logos of the companies and special interest groups they represent on the back of their suits, like the race car drivers do, to let everyone know who they ‘really’ represent. You could have heard a pin drop in that room because everyone knew he was right. That was vintage Ron Carey . . . saying what no one else would have the guts to say . . and he loved every minute of it.
He will be missed but NEVER forgotten.
John Tibbetts, Local 804 (Retired)
Ron Carey the President, the leader. He was respected by friend and foe alike. When Teamsters throughout the country realized that you were a Local 804 member, they would always ask about the legend “RON CAREY.” Yes, he was a legend—he led by example with honesty and integrity, and he always put the members first. I, like many others, am proud to have been a member of Local 804 and a friend of Ronnie. Local 804 will always be “The Home of Ron Carey.”
John Tibbetts served as Local 804’s UPS Contract Campaign Coordinator in 1997.
Jairo Reyes, Long Island City
My heart-filled wishes go out to the family of my President, my mentor and a role model. Ron was a true leader that cared for the working class. He knew what it meant to work for his members, to always keep the members informed at all times in the good and bad, and to keep up the fight against all opposition. Ron you will always had a place in my heart.
SEMPER FIDELIS.
Dave Oringer, Nassau, Feeder Dept.
I remember Ron Carey as our local president who made a point out of walking every building at least once a month and I remember how management used to scatter when he showed up. Every manager/supervisor feared him and every Teamster was a brother to him. Ron you will be missed by 804, and all Teamsters. Rest in Peace.
