On Wednesday afternoon of convention, delegates passed resolutions honoring General President Carl Rosen and Director of Organization Mark Meinster, with many rising to express their appreciation for these two UE leaders. Rosen is retiring at the end of his term in October, and Meinster chose not to run for re-election.
Scott Slawson, Local 506, presented Rosen with a watch from his local, saying, “Carl has been very instrumental” in helping him lead the Green Locomotive Project and his local’s 70-day strike in 2023. “We've served a long time together. And we've had our wars with each other — Carl will be the first to tell you that — but we've always found that spot where we could both agree.”
Bryan Martindale, Western Region, rose to say, “I have relied on no one more than Carl Rosen. [ … ] I could call him for anything at any time.” Ashley Clemons, Local 1004, recalled her experience as a first-time delegate to a regional council meeting led by Rosen. “I was just 18 years old and out of my home state alone for the very first time. And I didn't know anyone. I didn't know what a union was. [ … ] You included me, and made me feel comfortable,” she said. “This union will never be the same without you.” Ramona Malczynski, Local 1466, told Rosen “on the GEB, you've been able to get us through really complex decisions and discussions in a way that makes everyone feel heard, and that comes to a resolution.”
Speaking on the resolution “Mark Meinster,” Ewa Nizalowska, Local 300, praised Meinster’s key role in helping her local bargain and enforce their contract. He “taught us how to build and run a union with mass membership participation,” she said. Sekia Royall, Local 150, said that when Meinster became Director of Organization in 2021, her local “was kind of struggling,” but that Meinster “believed in us”; she thanked him for “throwing us that lifeline when we needed it.”
Armando Robles, Local 1110, recalled how Meinster had helped him and his co-workers at Republic Windows and Doors organize with UE in 2004, and the role that he played in their historic plant occupation in 2008. “For all of that, thank you Mark,” he said.
Also speaking on the resolutions were Nichel Dunlap and Dominic Harris, Local 150, Margaret Dabrowski, Local 222, Lauren Chua, Daniel Shen, and Nadia Zaragoza, Local 256, Paul Markley, Local 1043, Joe Rathke, Local 1103, Mounica Sreesai, Local 1122, Cedric Whelchel, Local 1177, and Lexi Kenis, Local 1466.