Charlie Dugan, 78; union chief won respect from all sides
Labor negotiations concluded with 10 minutes to spare in 1982 when Rupert Murdoch bought the Boston Herald American. Charlie Dugan was the one who went toe-to-toe with the press baron until a deal was struck.
The next day, a Globe report on Mr. Dugan's efforts to safeguard the interests of the Boston Mailers Union ran under the headline: "The man who made Murdoch sweat."
A little perspiration went a long way in the contract talks Mr. Dugan conducted during more than 20 years as president of Local 1, representing mailers, as the number of newspapers in Boston dwindled to two. Mr. Dugan, who lived in Stoughton and had also worked at the Globe for more than 25 years, died Thursday in Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton. He was 78 and had suffered from ailments that included heart problems.
"He always got you good contracts," said Dan Caplette, who now holds Mr. Dugan's former post as president of the Boston Mailers Union, Teamsters Local 1. "A lot of guys made a good living off them, me included."
Jobs were a key point as Mr. Dugan negotiated with Murdoch. The Mailers Local 1 was the first of the Herald American's 11 unions to sit down in a negotiating session, and it rejected the initial proposal, calling the staffing cuts too deep. By the time the Mailers became the last union to agree to a contract, Mr. Dugan had saved five jobs that Murdoch wanted to cut.
"If it were just the money, we wouldn't have a problem," Mr. Dugan told the Globe in November 1982 when the Mailers Union turned down the first offer. "But [Murdoch's] proposal would destroy our union."
"He was a great union leader, something you wouldn't see today," said George Betts, who took over as president of the Boston Mailers Union when Mr. Dugan retired in 1995. "He was at the top of his game."
William O. Taylor, chairman emeritus of the Globe, called Mr. Dugan "a good union president and a man of his word."
"He had a nice sense of humor and was a pleasure to deal with," Taylor said. "Charlie was very much a team player and wanted to make it work for the union members, as well as the company."
Charles E. Dugan grew up in Weymouth and a few Boston neighborhoods, graduating from Hyde Park High School. He met Marilyn Hanley when the two were rollerskating at Chez Vous, the rink in Mattapan, and they married 57 years ago.
After serving in the US Army, Mr. Dugan landed a job as a copy boy at the Boston Post, his wife said. Soon afterward, he began an apprenticeship as a mailer and worked at the Boston Herald Traveler before joining the Globe in 1965, where he stayed until retiring in 1991.
He rose through the union's ranks and in 1974 was elected president of the Boston Mailers Union, which then was affiliated with the International Typographical Union. During Mr. Dugan's tenure, the Mailers Union switched its affiliation to the Teamsters.
While serving as a union official, Mr. Dugan attended the Harvard Trade Union Program and the George Meany Center for Labor Studies in Silver Spring, Md.
"Charlie was a nice man, and he never looked down his nose," his wife said. "He liked his guys, and people all over the country liked Charlie."
Melissa Wagner said her father "was very proud of his family and loved his grandkids."
He was fond of big band music, too, said Wagner, who lives in Stafford, Va. Neighbors came to know Mr. Dugan's tastes when he brought stereo speakers into the back yard each summer and listened to albums by the Glenn Miller Orchestra and other ensembles.
Mr. Dugan was president of the Boston Mailers Union during a time of change. Years ago, thousands of newspapers were mailed to readers each day, a mode of delivery that gave the union its name. As more machines became part of production process, members of the Mailers Union increasingly worked to package and label newspapers as editions moved from the presses to platforms, where they were loaded onto trucks.
Like other union leaders, Mr. Dugan worked to keep wages growing and to hold onto as many jobs as possible. His hours on the front lines of contract talks drew praise from union members and management.
"He was a fair and tough negotiator, but he was also a guy you could share jokes with and have a drink with and be very comfortable," said Greg Thornton, senior vice president for employee relations and operations at the Globe, who got to know Mr. Dugan after becoming part of Boston's labor-management scene in the late 1980s. "He knew his craft, representing unions. He really knew the ropes, and, even given all that, he was exceptionally gracious to a new guy coming into town, which was me at the time."
And to the union rank and file, Mr. Dugan's work "meant a great deal," Betts said. "He did so much for so many in terms of jobs and the opportunity to work overtime. He made our living so much better through his work at the negotiating table. Charlie would hold his ground. If he believed in something, nothing would take him off that course."
In addition to his wife and daughter Melissa Wagner, Mr. Dugan leaves thee sons, Charles E. Jr. of Rochester, N.H., Stephen of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Richard of East Taunton; another daughter, Deborah Kenney of Stoughton; two brothers, Joseph of Halifax and Frank of California; a sister, Dorothy Zaniboni of Canton; seven grandsons; and five granddaughters.
A funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. today in St. James Church in Stoughton. Burial will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Stoughton. 