Workforce Board Changes
Local 848’s Gene Lantz has resigned from the Dallas Workforce Board
after ten years of volunteer service. His final message to the board is
reprinted below. Lantz was replaced by Chris Taylor of Teamsters’ Local 745. At
the top level of the state, former Teamsters’ President Ronnie Congleton was
appointed as Labor Commissioner to the Texas Workforce Board. The appointment
came from Governor Perry. The 3-person board also has a “business” commissioner
and a “public” commissioner.
Workforce money comes from the federal government and is used to
develop labor as an economic resource in Texas communities.
Ronnie Congleton, recently President of Teamsters
Local 745 in Dallas, has been appointed as Labor
Commissioner of the Texas Workforce Commission.
He was introduced by AFL-CIO President Emmett
Sheppard (right)
January
16, 2004
Dear Friends,
A few months ago, KNON radio asked me to host a
talk show every Wednesday morning. The downside was that I could no longer make
Worksource meetings, as I had, steadily, since 1993. I am re-assured because
you have Joe Hall and Chris Taylor, two leaders of the highest integrity,
coming on the board.
I regret leaving Ms Larrea and the staff of
Worksource. During my decade of service, I experienced a steadily growing
confidence in their skill, honesty, and dedication. They were a bright spot for
me in what history will show were exceedingly difficult and shameful times.
Working people, who invented and administered workforce programs from the 1940s
on, continued to be marginalized by the new federal and state regulations. The
working poor, who look to these federally-funded programs for help, were
submerged into faceless lumps known only as "numerators" and
"denominators." As with many other federal programs, the tax money
was increasingly wrested from their benefit and control to become a part of the
golden stream of corporate welfare directed by and for giant employers.
During these times and with these pressures, it is
high praise to be able to claim, as we can, that we did the best we could.
Thank you for my decade on the Dallas Workforce Board!
Sincerely,
Gene
Lantz