(BUFFALO) - On March 13th, a Memorial Service will be held at Teamsters Local 264's Union Hall in Cheektowaga to honor and remember the late Jack Canzoneri, a long-time Western New York Labor Leader and Federal Labor Mediator who is being remembered today as a "tough, hard-working advocate" for those he represented and as an "extremely fair" mediator who made "a great commitment to the process and finding solutions" for Labor and Management.

Canzoneri was a long-time leader of Teamsters Local 375, said Ron Lucas, president of Teamsters Local 264 and Teamsters Joint Council No. 46: "He was an aggressive, popular advocate for our membership.  He started as a truck driver with a Union background and went on to having a successful career.  It was a pleasure having had a friendship with him.  He had a wonderful sense of humor and he made you feel good about yourself, because he was more concerned about 'you,' which made him a perfect mediator."

"He was a tough advocate for his people, but he knew when to stop pushing.  For those who knew Jack, he had a very large presence, both as a Labor Leader and a mediator (with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in Syracuse and Buffalo).  He was involved in a lot of tough disputes, but always reached a fair agreement," said Lucas, who added that Canzoneri's love of representing workers did not end when he retired in 2000.  "Jack couldn't sit still and went to work for SEIU (Service Employees International Union) in Las Vegas," he said. 

The Memorial Service, which is being called: "Celebrate a Life of Public Service," will begin at 11 a.m. at Teamsters Local 264, which is located at 35 Tyrol Drive in Cheektowaga. 

"It's an informal gathering that's open to anyone who wants to attend and will provide many with an opportunity to remember Jack and discuss and reflect on his life, his family - which was very important to him - his representation of Organized Labor and the role he played as a Federal Mediator," said Richard Lipsitz, who serves as Business Agent for Teamsters Local 264 and as Political Action Coordinator for Teamsters Joint Council No. 46.

Asked what she will remember most about Canzoneri, Office and Professional Employees International (OPEIU) Union Local 212 business representative Deana Fox - who worked with Canzoneri at Local 200C Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in Buffalo - said: "His commitment to Labor.  He was very focused and fair and (when he got into an issue) he talked faster and faster about it.  He was a great co-worker, educator and enthusiastic Labor representative and mediator.   It was great joy to have known him."

"I remember him always saying, 'We've got to solve these problems.  Let's go!'" Fox added.  "He was an extremely fair negotiator and made a great commitment to the process.  He was committed to finding solutions and did what it took to do so"

Retired FMCS Mediator Kevin Powers had known Canzoneri for 35 years.  Asked what he will remember most about his friend, Powers answered: "His tenacity.  He was a guy who just never gave up.  He was a terrific mediator because he knew what it was all about.  He was involved in collective bargaining.  He was very respected by management because he 'had been there.'  He was highly-regarded."

"And he was always optimistic.  Every day was a new adventure for Jack.  In fact, he even thought Republicans 'could be saved.'  He always said there was hope for them," Powers jokingly recalled.

Canzoneri - who had non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, which was reportedly not detected until it was in its last stages - passed away on January 8th in Phoenix, Arizona, where he worked part time for six years as business agent for the SEIU in Las Vegas.  He was 75.

Upon learning of his death, the Teamsters Union in Buffalo released the following statement:

"Jack Canzoneri was a Teamster leader for much of the 60s and 70s.  He was President, Principal Executive Officer and Business Agent of Local 375.  He was also a trustee of the New York State Teamster Health and Hospital Fund.  In these capacities, Jack served his membership in collective bargaining, contract administration, political action and many more areas of work.

By all measures, Jack was a successful Labor Leader for our organization and for the Service Employees International Union, where he spent many years after leaving the Teamsters. However, election to office is only one measure used to gage Jack's work.  He was a man of many talents.  Jack was friendly, charming, funny and very, very smart. He was also very skilled at representing workers in the workplace.  Jack fought for the underdog, for the ordinary men and women. In this sense he was a model for us all.  We will miss Jack in a very profound way."

The Buffalo News recently published the following obituary:

Born on March 3rd, 1934 in Buffalo, Jack Canzoneri - the son of a Union Organizer who helped found the local branch of the United Auto Workers (UAW) - began his career as Teamsters steward at Oneida Motor Freight.  He then was elected an officer and business agent for Teamsters Local 375, becoming vice president in 1969 and later president.

He served in several capacities with the state Teamsters organization, including Labor Trustee on the State Teamsters Pension Plan, and was deeply involved with organizing the national March for Jobs and Justice Rally in Washington, D.C., in 1981.

Canzoneri became business agent for Local 200C, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), in Buffalo in 1988.  His experience in negotiating hundreds of Labor contracts led to his appointment in 1992 as a commissioner with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.  As mediator, he resolved scores of difficult contract negotiations.

For his many years of work in Labor Relations, he was named Citizen of the Year in 1999 by the Industrial Relations Research Association.

To honor his legacy, donations can be made in his name to the Western New York Peace Center, 1272 Delaware Ave., Buffalo, NY, 14209 (www.wnypeace.org) and Jobs with Justice Education Fund, 1325 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20005 (www.jwj.org). 

(Editor's Note: For further information on the March 13^th Remembrance Service for Jack Canzoneri at Teamsters Local 375 in Cheektowaga, contact either Mary Holl (Extension 10) or Richard Lipsitz (Extension 25) at 716-668-8007.)