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The Worker Institute’s Linda Donahue Honored at Irish Labor 10 Awards

Linda Donahue, editor and director of The Worker Institute’s Union Communication Services, received the Irish Labor 10 award on Sept. 25 from the Irish Echo, the oldest Irish-American newspaper in the United States.

The award celebrates the contribution of the Irish in America to the cause of labor and reflects “on the work of those historical giants who paved the way to labor’s central role in contemporary American life.”
 
Donahue joined Cornell ILR in 1979 and has worked as a labor educator most of her adult life, offering workshops and labor studies courses to union activists in Upstate New York. She champions the labor movement’s efforts to consistently advocate for good wages, safe conditions, meaningful education, adequate health care and improved opportunities for working people.
 
In 2007, she co-authored the study The Cost of Worker Misclassification in New York State to spotlight these issues. She also chaired the 2009 Wage Board, consolidating the restaurant and hotel industries’ wage orders.
 
Addressing the need for change in the labor movement, Donahue reflected that “we all must adapt to an ever-changing environment. Labor must always monitor the legislative and cultural climate to ensure all workers’ interests, and their communities, are protected.” Currently, Donahue is editor and director of Union Communication Services.
 
Other honorees include:

  • James Callahan, General President, IUOE
  • Danny Donohue, President, Civil Service Employees Association
  • Leo Fahey, Business Manager, Pipefitters Local 537, Boston
  • Patrick Mc Garvey, Regional Director, IUEC, California
  • James McNamara, Dir. Of Public Relations, ILA, NY
  • David Miller, LIUNA, NY
  • John Murphy, International VP, IBT
  • Bill Hennessey, President/GM ILA Public Service Employees, NY
  • Peter Clark, Business Agent, ILA NJ

The guest of honor, Gerry Adams T.D., president of the Sinn Féin political party and the guest speaker was Terry O’Sullivan, President of LiUNA. 
 
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