International Longshoremen's Association, AFL-CIO 52nd Quadrennial Convention |
Richard P. Hughes, Jr. Unanimously Elected International President;
John Bowers Elected President Emeritus
Thursday, July 26, 2007
John Bowers, who served as the union’s International President for more than twenty years, announced that he would not run for reelection earlier this week during the ILA’s convention.
“I’m proud and I trust Richie. I know he will lead this union on to better things,” said ILA President Emeritus John Bowers in his nomination speech.
After thanking Mr. Bowers for his years of service to the ILA and for his friendship, President Hughes thanked all of the delegates for the trust and faith they place in him.
President Hughes previously served as the union’s Executive Vice President, as well as Secretary-Treasurer of the ILA’s Atlantic Coast District. A third generation longshoreman, President Hughes first joined the ILA in 1957 as a member of Local 953 in Baltimore, Maryland.
Current ILA Secretary-Treasurer Robert E. Gleason was unanimously reelected to a fifth consecutive four-year term. Harold J. Daggett, Jr. was unanimously elected to the position of Executive Vice President. He previously served as the union’s Assistant General Organizer and has served as president of ILA Local 1804-1, the General Maintenance local covering ILA members in the Port of New York and New Jersey.
Benny Holland, Jr. was unanimously reelected to his fifth term as ILA General Vice President. He also is President Emeritus of the ILA’s South Atlantic and Gulf Coast District.
Gerald Owens was unanimously reelected as the union’s International General Organizer, a position he has held since 2000. This will be his second full term. He is the union’s first ever African-American to hold this position.
John D. Baker was unanimously elected Assistant General Organizer. Mr. Baker has served as ILA Great Lakes District Council President since 1982 and as an International Vice President since 1982.
International Vice Presidents Chauncey J. Baker; James McCleland, Jr.; Raymond Desgagnes; Edward L. Brown, Sr.; Horace T. Alston; William McNamara; Clyde Fitzgerald; Raymond Sierra; Captain Timothy Brown; Ronald Capri; John Bowers, Jr.; James H. Paylor, Jr.; James O. Campbell; Louis Pernice; Richard Gabel; and Juan Velez Rodriguez were each unanimously reelected to four year terms.
Michael Dickens and Kenneth Riley were elected to their first full terms as ILA International Vice Presidents. They had previously been appointed by the ILA Executive Council to fulfill unexpired terms.
Charles Spencer, Wilbur Rowell, Benjamin Bryan, William Yockey, Gerardo Becerra, Vincent Cuozzo and John Healy were elected to their first terms as ILA International Vice Presidents.