Cushing-Gavin Awards • 1967-2024

CGA

A salute to the labor-relations community in Massachusetts

December 6, 2024, @ IBEW Local 103

Congratulations to the 2024 Awardees!

Elizabeth Neumeier

Father Edward F. Boyle Award (Auxiliary)

Arbitrator

Roland N. Goff

Labor Attorney Award

Director of Strategic Campaigns and Legal Counsel
The Massachusetts Nurses Association

Jim Pinkham

Labor Award

Utility Workers Union of America Local 369

Henry Vitale, C.P.A.

Management Award

Executive Director and Treasurer
Boston Water and Sewer Commission

Platinum Sponsors

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

Bronze Sponsors

Thank You To

Joseph Arcudi

Jim Cooper

Kevin Cotter

Tom Kochan

Thomas Kohler

Norton Family

Rosemary Pye & John E. Higgins Jr.

Richard Reilly

Heat & Frost Insulators Local 6

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2222

Keches Law Group

Massachusetts Nurses Association

Massachusetts Nurses Association (PEW) Union

Massachusetts Nurses Association Region V

Modern Assistance

MWRA

NASRCC

National Grid

Norfolk County Commissioner Richard R. Staiti

SHARE/AFSCME

UFCW Local 1445

History of Cushing-Gavin Awards Dinner

Perhaps the best-known single project of the Labor Guild is its annual award for outstanding service in the eastern Massachusetts labor relations community. The program was launched in 1967, largely at the prompting of the Guild Chaplain, Father Mortimer (Mort) Gavin, S.J. As a professional mediator, Fr. Mort understood the value of top-notch practitioners, so he created an awards program aimed to:

  • provide well-deserved recognition to individual practitioners for excellence and singular service in labor-management affairs;
  • offer both inspiration and education to the general labor-management community by showcasing outstanding contributors;
  • bring greater visibility to the Guild and all its programs;
  • nurture a more bipartisan atmosphere within the Labor Guild,
  • contribute critical financial resources to support the Guild’s work.

Naming the Awards after Boston’s highly popular and respected Archbishop Richard Cushing was a natural choice, as he was the founder and an essential advocate for the Guild in the post-war years. The son of a Boston Elevated Railway blacksmith, Cushing worked as a janitor throughout his high school and college years. His working-class roots and life experience informed his long public record of advocating for a robust and responsible labor movement while being sensitive to the legitimate needs of the business community. His involvement in the early years of the Awards Dinner immediately afforded it substantial stature within the community. More telling of the Dinner’s long-term success was the spirit of mutuality he introduced at the first Awards Dinner.

That first dinner attracted over 700 people. Decades later, CGA Dinners still draw hundreds of guests. Yet, as Guild Chaplain Fr. Edward Boyle wrote in 1995:  “Numbers alone cannot be the accurate gauge of what this event represents to the labor-management community. That can only be registered in the hearts and minds of those attending, and the fresh commitments and deepened sensitivities nurtured by this event.”

“We all tend to live in our own special isolation, building walls about ourselves, and considering only the problems that are closest to each of us individually. Tonight we sit together in a spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood, recognizing that most of our difficulties we share with each other, most of our ideals we pursue together, and most of our progress will be made together or it will not be made at all.” 

– Richard Cardinal Cushing, 1967

CGA-Banner-Faces

Recognizing Previous Cushing-Gavin Awardees

To learn more about each awardee, click their card!

2023 Awardees

Gary D. Altman

Father Edward F. Boyle Award (Auxiliary)

Arbitrator & Mediator

Steven A. Tolman

Labor Award

President
Massachusetts AFL-CIO

James W. Bucking

Management Attorney Award

Partner
Foley Hoag LLP

Nicole I. Taub, Esq.

Management Award

Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor for Policy and Legal Affairs
Office of the Police Commissioner, City of Boston

2022 Awardees

Marie-Thérèse “Tess” Browne, SCN

Father Edward F. Boyle Award (Auxiliary)

Sisters of Charity of Nazareth

Nicole Horberg Decter, Esq.

Labor Attorney Award

Segal Roitman LLP

Myles Calvey

Labor Award

Business Manager
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2222

John Folcarelli

Management Award

Vice President Employee Relations
Student Transportation of America

2021 Awardees

Marjorie Wittner

Father Edward F. Boyle Award (Auxiliary)

Chair
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Employment Relations Board

Joseph Delorey, Esq.

Labor Award

of Counsel
AFSCME Council 93

Keith H. McCown, Esq

Management Attorney Award

Partner
Morgan Brown & Joy LLP

Joseph R. Nolan Jr.

Management Award

President, Chief Executive Officer
Eversource Energy

2020 Awardees

John Hanson

Father Edward F. Boyle Award (Auxiliary)

Chairman
Joint Labor Management Committee for Municipal Police and Fire

Amy Davidson, Esq.

Labor Attorney Award

Partner
Sandulli Grace P.C.

Janet Wilder

Labor Award

Lead Organizer
SHARE/AFSCME

Arthur R. Osborn Jr. 

Management Award

President
Osborn Labor Management Consulting

2019 Awardees

F. Donal O’Brien

Father Edward F. Boyle Award (Auxiliary)

Arbitrator/Mediator

Richard Rogers

Labor Award

Executive Secretary – Treasurer
The Greater Boston Labor Council

Michael J. Macarro, Esq. 

Management Attorney Award

Partner
Murphy Hesse Toomey & Lehane LLP

Mary E. Walsh Ph.D. 

Management Award

Executive Director
City Connects

William G. Gross

Management Award

Commissioner
Boston Police Department

2018 Awardees

Sarah Kerr Garraty, Esq.

Father Edward F. Boyle Award (Auxiliary)

Mediator/Arbitrator

Anne R. Sills, Esq. 

Labor Attorney Award

Partner
Segal Roitman, LLP

Stephen Finnigan

Labor Award

Sub-District Director
United Steelworkers

Stephen Coyle

Management Award

Former Chief Executive Officer
AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust

2017 Awardees

David Weil, Ph.D.

Father Edward F. Boyle Award (Auxiliary)

Dean and Professor
Heller School for Social Policy & Management, Brandeis University

Cynthia A. Rodrigues

Labor Award

President
Greater Southeastern Massachusetts Labor Council

Mark W. Batten, Esq.

Management Attorney Award

Partner
Proskauer

Stephen Affanato

Management Award

Executive Director
New England Mechanical Contractors Association

2016 Awardees

Michael D Felsen, Esq.

Father Edward F. Boyle Award (Auxiliary)

Regional Solicitor
United States Department of Labor

Susan F. Horwitz, Esq.

Labor Attorney Award

Partner
Sandulli Grace, P.C.

Francis C. Boudrow

Labor Award

Business Manager
Heat & Frost Insulators

Glenn W. Kingsbury

Management Award

Executive Director (Retired)
NECA (Electrical Contractors) Boston

2015 Awardees

Gina M. Alongi

Father Edward F. Boyle Award (Auxiliary)

Executive Director
Massachusetts Coalition of Taft-Hartley Trust Funds

Richard O. Charette

Labor Award

Retired President
United Food & Commercial Workers Local #1445

Diane B. Patrick, Esq.

Management Attorney Award

Co-Managing Partner
Ropes & Gray

John Cannistraro, Jr.

Management Award

President
J.C. Cannistraro LLC

2014 Awardees

Paul Chabot

Father Edward F. Boyle Award (Auxiliary)

Commissioner
Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service (FMCS)

Shelley B. Kroll, Esq.

Labor Attorney Award

Partner
Segal Roitman LLP

William D. McLaughlin

Labor Award

President & Business Representative
IUOE (Operating Engineers) Local 4

Thomas J. Ryan III

Management Award

Director Employee-Labor Relations
National Grid, New England

2013 Awardees

James S. Cooper

Father Edward F. Boyle Award (Auxiliary)

Arbitrator

Julie Betts Pinkham, RN

Labor Award

Executive Director
Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA)

D.M. Moschos, Esq.

Management Attorney Award

Partner
Mirick O’Connell

John F. Torpey Jr.

Management Award

Director, Corporate Labor Relations
Raytheon Company

2012 Awardees

Barry Bluestone, Ph.D.

Father Edward F. Boyle Award (Auxiliary)

Stearns Trustee Professor of Political Economy, Director
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy, Northeastern University

Kenneth Grace

Labor Attorney Award

Partner
Sandulli Grace PC

John P. Dumas

Labor Award

President
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local #103

John Dunlap

Management Award

Chief of Personnel & Labor Relations
City of Boston

2011 Awardees

Rosemary Pye

Father Edward F. Boyle Award (Auxiliary)

Regional Director
Nations Labor Relations Board Region I

Jen Springer

Labor Award

Metro Boston Coordinator, Assistant General Counsel
AFSCME Council 93

Robert P. Joy Esq.

Management Attorney Award

Partner
Morgan Brown & Joy, LLP

Joel Boone

Management Award

Director, Human Resources
Stop and Shop Supermarket Company LLC
2010 Louis G. Rasetta, Int’l Union Of Operating Engineers, Local #4 Nancy Peace, Arbitrator Consultant John Messervy, AIA, Partners Healthcare Burton E. Rosenthal, Esq., Segal Roitman, LLP
2009 Martin Callaghan, Boston Newspaper Printing Pressmen’s Union Local #3 Suzanne M. Bump, MA Secretary Of Labor & Workplace Development William F. Dowd, National Grid James F. Grosso, Esq., O’Reilly, Grosso & Gross
2008 Rocio Saenz, SEIU #615 Robert B. Mckersie, MIT/Sloan School Of Management Robert J. Lewis, Boston College Joseph G. Sandulli, Esq., Sandulli Grace, P.C.
2007 Michael Monahan, IBEW Local 103 Edward J. Boyle, S.J., Archdiocean Labor Guild Diane Crimmins, Town Of Belmont Philip G. Boyle, Esq., Morgan, Brown & Joy
2006 Jay Hurley, Iron Workers #7 L. Christine Oliver, MD, OSH, MGH Frederick A. Laskey, MWRA Ira Sills, Esq., Segal, Roitman & Coleman
2005 Kathleen Kelley, AFT Lawrence Holden, Arbitrator Joanne Salines, Partners Healthcare Paul Kingston, Esq., Rubin & Rudman
2004 Kevin Cotter, Plumbers #12 John Coughlin, Blue Cross/Blue Shield Patricia Day, Massport E. David Wanger, Esq., Angoff, Goldman, et al.
2003 Robert Banks, Ironworkers #7 David Grafton, OSHA Virginia Tisei, Boston Schools John O’Reilly, III, O’Reilly Grosso & Gross
2002 Kathleen A. Casavant, Mass. AFL-CIO Joseph Kane, NLRB Gregory Thornton Esq., Boston Globe Alan J. Mcdonald, Esq., Mcdonald And Associates
2001 Paul Hannon, Steelworkers Joan Dolan, Arbitrator Richard Meyer, Massport Nelson Ross, Esq., Ropes & Gray
2000 Chuck Monahan, IBEW Local 103 Elaine Bernard, HTUP Thomas J. Gunning, Building Trades Employers Joanne Goldstein, Esq., General Counsel, UWUA
1999 Phillip Trombly, Brotherhood, UWUA Susan R. Brown, Arbitrator Kenneth Paradis, Bechtel/Parsons/Brinkerhof Robert Holland, Esq., Deutsch, Williams, et al.
1998 William Ryan, IOUE #4 Thomas Kochan, MIT Steven Grossman, Mass. Envelope Wendy Bittner, Esq., Bittner Law
1997 Joseph Dart, Mass. Building Trades Gerard Gomez, FMCS Douglas Macdonaid, MWRA Katherine Hesse, Esq., Murphy, Hesse, et al.
1996 Donald Wrightman, UWUA Roberta Golick, Arbitrator Timothy Manning, Harvard University Paul Kelly, Esq., Segal, Roitman & Coleman
1995 John Phinney, UFCW #1445 Paul Mcdevitt, Modern Assistance Theodore Brodie, N.E. Insulation Michael Lehane, Esq., Murphy, Hesse, et al.
1994 Carol Knox, UAW Reg 9A Edward F. Eagan, OSHA David Perini, Perini Corporation Donald J. Siegel, Esq., Segal, Roitman & Coleman
1993 Robert J. Haynes, Mass. AFL-CIO R. Robert Rodwell, United Way John J. Higgins, Boston Edison Company Ellen C. Kearns, Esq., Kearns & Rubin
1992 Joseph Nigro, Boston Building Trades Council Helen Moreschi, Mass. Department Of Industrial Accidents Michael Metzler, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Warren Pyle, Esq., Angoff, Goldman, et al.
1991 James Grande, Operating Engineers, Apprentice Training Program Diane Zaar Cochran, Board Of Conciliation And Arbitration Jack Shaughnessy, Shaughnessy Company William Joy, Sr., Esq., Morgan, Brown & Joy
1990 Robert Petronella, UFCW Paul Eustace, Mass. Secretary Of Labor John J. Cohane, Boston Gas Company Augustus Camelio, Esq., AFSCME Council #93
1989 Kristine Rondeau, AFSCME Michael F. Walsh, NLRB John L. Ritchie, Trial Court Arthur P. Murphy, Esq., Murphy, Hesse, et al.
1988 Thomas Mclntyre, Bricklayers International John J. Martin, FMCS Anthony Sapienza, Grieco Bros., Inc. Arthur Flamm, Esq., Flamm & Birmingham
1987 Joseph Bonavita, AFSCME Council #93 Richard M. Reilly, AAA Thomas Sullivan, Greater Boston PHCC Allan W. Drachman, Esq., Deutsch, Williams, et al.
1986 James E. Mahoney, OPEIU Local #6 Arnold M. Zack, Arbitrator John J. Manning, Boston Herald Robert M. Segal, Esq., Segal, Roitman, & Coleman.
1985 Arthur Osborn, Mass. AFL-CIO Sherman G. Sass, Martin E. Segal Co. Paul F. Dempsey, Mass. Hospital Association Alvin M. Glazerman, Esq., Edwards & Angell.
1984 Joseph Faherty, Utility Workers #387 Wilfrid Rodgers, The Boston Globe William Vaughn, III, The Stop & Shop Company Robert Manning, Esq., Angoff, Goldman, et al.
1983 Thomas Evers,State Building Trades Robert J. Halloran, Blue Cross-Blue Shield John R. Mckeon, State Office Employee Relations Allan A. Tepper, Esq., Snyder, Tepper & Comen
1982 Michael Botelho, AFSCME Council #93 James Healy, Arbitrator, Harvard University Harold Raybould, Quincy Market & Cold Storage James Grady, Esq., Grady, Dumont & Dwyer
1981 Thomas Climo, Sugar Workers #166, Ila Marcia Greenbaum, Arbitrator Arthur Vershbow, Modern Die & Machine
1980 John A. Callahan, State AFL-CIO John E. Higgins, Arbitrator Malcolm Mackinnon, The Boston Globe
1979 John F. O’Malley, AFL-CIO Region 8 Robert Fuchs, NLRB Bertram Creese, Leather Manufacturers Association
1978 Frank Every, Machinists Dist. Lodge #38 John T. Dunlop, Harvard University, Arbitrator Thomas Gunning, Building Trades Employers
1977 Lawrence C. Sullivan, Boston Labor Council Charles Myers, MIT Arbitrator John Murphy Bird & Son Inc.
1976 Richard Coleman Esq., Segal, Roitman & Coleman Richard Goggin, Federal Mediation Service William O. Murdock, John Hancock
1975 Paul Mcnamara, United Transportation John Church, AAA Sheldon Appel, Perkit Box Company
1974 Joseph Stefani, Hotel & Restaurant Workers William J. Fallen, Arbitrator Peter Killelea, Boston Gas Company
1973 Erika Pinault, AFSCME Howard Myers, Northeastern University Thomas L.P. O’Donnell, Attorney, Arbitrator, Ropes & Gray
1972 Edward Moore, Paperworkers Paul Mulkern, U.S. Department Of Labor Thomas Cathcart, Eastern Gas & Fuel
1971 Clifton Caldwell, Meat Cutters David Grodsky, State Med. & Council E. Leonard Kane, Raytheon Company
1970 Fred Ramsey, Construction Wendell Macdonaid, BLS-USDOL Eugene Barnes, Boston Newspaper Publishers
1969 Thomas Owens, Brewery Workers Joseph O’Donnell, Harvard, HTUP Joel Leighton, Mass. AGC
1968 Val Murphy Utility Workers, Boston Labor Council Donald White, Boston College, Arbitrator David Fine, The Stop & Shop Companies
1967 Donn Berry, IBEW #103 Daniel Hurley, FMCS John Hennessy, Boston Edison