A real gift
Jay had a real gift for his work—the individuals he
encountered over the years on both sides of the
bargaining table can testify to that—but he took the
most pride in nurturing new locals and their leaders.
Roberta Souza, former president of the New Bedford
Federation of Paraprofessionals, credits him with
helping that union become a force in its members'
lives.
"He put his heart and his soul into it and he gained
the trust and the respect of the members," says Souza.
"If it hadn't been for Jay we'd never have the contract
that we have." And while bargaining contracts is a
serious business, says Souza, part of what made Jay so
effective was his sense of humor. "He had a marvelous,
dry wit and he could use it to diffuse any situation.
He could actually get everyone at the table
laughing."
The lighter side
Fellow field representative Umberto Latessa says
that he came to prize both Jay's serious side and his
lighter side. "He was my mentor from early on—the
best thing that ever happened to me," recalls Latessa,
who came to work at what was then called the Massachusetts
Federation of Teachers five years after Jay
joined the staff. "He talked to me about politics, style
and approach. Some of it took, some of it didn't;
that's why we got along so well." When the two
weren't discussing the serious business of tending to
dozens of locals, they were having a laugh. "My
favorite memory of Jay has nothing to do with work,”
says Latessa. "Once we were at a pen store downtownhe
was always having to get his pen fixed—and the
clerk heard us joking around and asked what radio
station we were on. She said 'you must be morning
talk show hosts.’ Jay beamed for a week after that.”
Campus ally
A former fifth grade teacher in Peabody, Jay's first
assignment for the MFT was to help 117 striking
faculty members at Boston's Wentworth Institute of
Technology. The strike ended after a few weeks, but
Jay's commitment to the particular needs and issues of
the Federation's higher education locals would span his
whole career.
Bruce Sparfven, chair of the Educational Services
Unit of UMass Faculty Federation Local 1895, met Jay
18 years ago while negotiating on behalf of professional
staff at UMass Dartmouth. Jay became his
mentor, recalls Sparfven, but he also became his
friend. "We shared a lot of stories about our families
and our goals. Jay had a very human side and I feel
lucky to have known him."
The importance of being on time
One of Sparfven's favorite memories involves Jay's
unusual predilection for being on time. "We'd have a
9:30AM meeting in Dartmouth and I'd go to my office
at 8:30 and I'd see Jay's car. Now he lived up in
Peabody and I'd think to myself: 'how early did he get
up?'" No matter when and where their meetings were
scheduled, recalls Sparfven, Jay was always the first to
arrive. "If we were getting together on campus, my cell
phone would ring one minute past the prescribed time
and he'd say 'where are you? Are you going to make
me sit here alone?'"
A fitting tribute
To pay tribute to Jay and his many years of service
to the faculty and staff at UMass Dartmouth, Local
1895 is establishing a scholarship in his memory. The
award, explains Sparfven, will make college more
affordable for a student who needs it—no strings
attached. AFT Massachusetts has also created a
scholarship in Jay's memory: $1500 for a high school
student who is a dependant of an AFT Massachusetts
member and gets top scores on the AFL-CIO's labor
history exam. Both are fitting honors for Jay who, for
many years, served as the chair of the AFL-CIO's
scholarship committee.
Never forget
"I always wondered if Jay took notes," says Gray
Sawyer, the chapter chairperson of the librarians' local
at the Beebe Memorial Library in Wakefield. "How
else could he possibly remember the names of everyone
who worked here? He knew who'd just had a
grandchild, he'd ask after people—and he only saw us
once or twice a year." Sawyer says that she finally did
figure out Jay's secret: he remembered the librarians
because he cared about them. "He was genuinely kind
and loving and went beyond the call of duty. I can
truthfully say that he was the nicest person I ever met."
A reassuring presence
In addition to her recollections of that first
meeting with Jay Porter eight years ago, Dianne
Hendrickson also recalls the last time she saw him. In
June, Jay traveled to Leicester to help her deal with
arbitrations and other union business but they began
the session, as they so often did, talking about their
lives away from work. Both were getting ready to go
on cruises with their families; both had grandchildren
on the way. "I told Jay that my mother had recently
passed away and he was so comforting. He was always
very reassuring, whether you were in negotiations or
had something happening in your life. He was a
wonderful, caring gentleman who is greatly missed
already