Community rallies to support outstanding labor and community leader

By Rand Wilson

Over 1,000 people crowded into the Firefighters' Florian Hall in Dorchester last Friday to honor Jerry "Judgie" Leary who passed away after a valiant battle against cancer and give support to his bereaved family.

Leary was a telephone worker, lifelong Dorchester resident and well-known neighborhood guy.  As a union activist and Vice President of IBEW Local 2222, he won the admiration of his co-workers during the legendary four month NYNEX strike and many subsequent battles with its successor companies Bell Atlantic and Verizon.

"The event far exceeded our expectations," said Donna Bohan, a Verizon Inside Tech and Local 2222 mobilization committee member who coordinated the event.  "It was by far our largest and most successful fundraiser."

Pictures from the fundraising party may be viewed by Clicking Here.

"I was really impressed with the wide range of people that came out for Jerry," added Donna.  "Who knew that he touched so many people from every walk of life?  In addition to hundreds of our members, there were lots of labor leaders, politicians, sports coaches, people from his neighborhood as well as a few CEOs and business leaders.  And I was especially happy to see so many of Jerry's kids friends."