Gene Russo oral history interview, January 24 and 31, 2006

Interviewed by Phil LaPorte: Russo speaks at some length about his experiences as an Italian-American Catholic growing up in the World War II era in New Jersey. He goes on to recall his life as a young man in Miami, including the strange circumstances under which his family moved to Miami, and the beginning of his career with Southern Bell. He discusses in detail his work as a cable splicer’s helper and gives his perspective on the violent, 72-day CWA strike of 1955. Russo then talks about his time as a member of the US Army Reserves and how that experience pushed him to be a more active union member. He admits that he was an inactive member for his first five years with CWA, but says he quickly went headlong into union activity 1958, becoming a union steward in October of that year and COPE committee chair in early 1959. He also talks of his rise to vice-president of the local in 1960, emphasizing his involvement in politics as well as his commitment to seeing that African-American CWA members were treated with respect and equality. Russo then details his involvement with CWA throughout the 1960s, including his relationship with District 3 vice-president Ben Porch, his contract negotiations with Southern Bell, his rise to the presidency of the local in 1966, and his union leadership training at the University of Iowa in 1968. In the final portion of part 1 of the interview, Russo discusses his decision to give up his job at Southern Bell in 1970 in order to run for president of the local for a second term. Russo begins this part of the interview by talking about moving to Atlanta in 1972 to become a staff member for Ben Porch and director of greater Atlanta CWA Locals. Other than working with the locals, his duties, he says, included maintaining his involvement with legislative affairs in Florida as well as initiating a legislative agenda in Georgia. Discussing his new position in Atlanta, he outlines the political campaigns he took an interest in, particularly Sam Caldwell’s bid for Labor Commissioner of Georgia and Jimmy Carter’s campaign for President of the United States. In discussing these campaigns, Russo highlights the importance of labor support for Democratic candidates. He also recalls his promotion to CWA District 3 Administrative Assistant in charge of education in 1978. He says that in that position he helped change the philosophy of union leadership education. At the University of Georgia, which hosted CWA Region 3’s Leadership School, Russo saw that the members who attended the weeklong training sessions were exposed to a wide range of subjects, including philosophy and economics. He continues by talking about his contract negotiations with Bell South and his run for CWA District 3 vice-president in 1986. After speaking in some detail about his run for District 3 vice-president, he discusses some of the methods he employed to create solidarity and dialogue amongst regional staff members and local leadership. Russo says that as vice-president, improvements in healthcare and retirement were among his most important contributions to CWA. He ends the interview by discussing labor politics in the early to mid 1990s, especially concerning Zell Miller’s campaign for governor of Georgia and Bill Clinton’s run for the White House.