RIP Bill Haas

Bill Haas was a Bronx 1101 legend. He started at the phone company in 1964 and worked there for more than 40 years.  Bill was Chief Steward at the Zerega Avenue repair garage for decades. He was the driving force behind the Commodore Award, which established two-man areas throughout the five boroughs for technician’s safety. He was a role-model and mentor to countless Stewards and Chiefs in the Bronx.

“Bill really helped form the union,” remembers Val Valentino, 1101 Business Agent who spent much of his career in the Bronx. “Those were the early days. We were building CWA, figuring out how to become a real union. We had to train members to go to a steward before going to management, to look to the union not the company for help.  Any questions we had about the contract and how to do things, we’d go to Bill.”

Bill was active in the union from day one but it was really during the 1971 strike that he ‘made his bones’. He was elected Chief Steward at Hoe Avenue and Mott Haven Central Offices. Then he was elected Chief at the Truxton St garage; when Truxton St closed he became Chief at 1101 Zarega. He was one of the first safety chiefs for the Bronx.

The Commodore Award was the greatest accomplishment of Bill’s career. Under Bill’s direction Bronx stewards filed thousands of safety grievances. They reported every incident of hostile or criminal activity in Manhattan and the Bronx against technicians to Bill, who documented everything over 3 or 4 years’ time. Bill visited police precincts throughout the Bronx to gather statistics on crime in the area. He drew the maps and was the key witness at the arbitration which led to the Commodore Award, which is still in effect today.

Bill started at the phone company after serving in the army and he was active in Veterans affairs for the rest of his life. He never missed a Veterans’ Day parade, bringing all his stewards with him. Bill and his wife Mary Ann were also active in local Democratic politics in the Throgs Neck area. Bill, who had been a stage handler on Broadway before starting at the phone company, volunteered his lighting skills at community theater productions in the Bronx for years.

Bill stayed active with the union in his retirement. “Bill and Mary Ann were Instrumental in the Local 1101 Retiree Chapter,” District 1 Retired Members Council President Pat Welsh said. “They took the lead in fundraising for the chapter at the Locals’ golf tournament every year. Without that effort the chapter wouldn’t have been able to survive financially.”

Bill died in May 2020. He is survived by his wife Mary Ann, his daughter Bridget and his son BJ. His legacy in the Local lives on through the Commodore Award and all the Stewards and Chiefs he trained to be strong union fighters.

Picture below: Tom Smucker, CWA Local 1101 Retired Members Council President, Mary Ann and Bill Haas at the 1101 Scholarship Golf Tournament