Can't Take That Away
To the Editor:

In his latest letter to The Chief (Sept. 19 issue), Transport Workers Union of America International President Emeritus Harold "Sonny" Hall, expresses needless concern about losing his title as an "emeritus" president.

The word "emeritus" simply means "retired" from active service. As an adjective, it can precede or follow just about any title. We often see it used to describe professors and ministers. Plain and simple, it refers to former holders of an office.

In some cases, especially in the business world, conditions or criteria must be fulfilled to gain emeritus status. This is not the case with unions, nor with Sonny Hall. He was elected the sixth international president. He served two full terms from 1993-2004. He then became one of two presidents emeritus; the other is Michael T. O'Brien 2004-2006).

Now let's be clear. There is no provision in the TWU constitution to take away this strictly honorific title. It cannot be done. This doesn't mean that the leadership of TWU Local 100 has to hang Hall's picture in the Michael J. Quill Room. Neither does Hall have to be invited to speak at union mass meetings, nor to be made welcome at special events, nor to be asked to participate in activities on special occasions. Still, Hall should consider himself lucky.

After all, his predecessors, our first, third and fourth TWU International presidents, died while serving in office. (They were the unforgettable Michael J. Quill, 1934-1966, along with Bill Lindner, 1979-1985 and John Lawe, 1985-1989). They never got to be presidents emeriti. And so far, only our second leader, Matt Guinan, 1966-1979 lived for more than 10 years after retirement.

Finally, I have an intuition that as the first TWU chief to earn a college degree, emeritus president Sonny Hall will continue to fill the pages of the this newspaper with lively and topical letters for many, many years to come.

RUSSELL SMITH