Dear Brothers & Sisters:
As you all know by now, both Secretary-Treasurer Gary Maslanka and Administrative Vice President John Bland are retiring after great careers of advocacy for this membership. It is never easy to say goodbye to friends and colleagues who we have worked with and admired over the years. Even though Gary and John are taking retirements that are richly deserved, they will continue to have a role with the TWU. John in particular will remain very involved in the union’s leadership.
Luckily, for our TWU International, we have a very strong leadership bench.
Today, the IEC took action, with the full support of the IAC, to fill these vacancies. I am happy to report that the IEC gave its’ unanimous and enthusiastic support to these recommendations.
The IEC named Jerome Lafragola to replace Gary Maslanka as Secretary-Treasurer. The Council voted to elevate Vice President and Transit Division Director Curtis Tate and Vice President and Airline Division Director Mike Mayes to fill the Administrative Vice President vacancies, which were made vacant.
Both myself and Executive Vice President Alex Garcia have great confidence in this new leadership team. We will work together in unity and in coordination to carry out the goals of our Organization. I trust that you as members of the Executive Board, International Staff and broader leadership teams in our Local TWU affiliates will offer your full support and cooperation to us moving forward.
United Invincible,
John Samuelsen
TWU International President