The Joseph H. Mason award and “Salute to Labor” dinner honors the legacy of Joe Mason, who served on the board of directors of the United Way and exemplified labor’s commitment to serving the community. This year, on Aug. 4, the United Way of Southern Chautauqua County honored Burl Swanson, a member of the Communication Workers of America (CWA) 1115 Union, at the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel in Celeron.

“Burl honors the Mason family legacy in many ways, and the United Way of Southern Chautauqua County is pleased to name him as the 2021 Joseph H. Mason Award Winner,” said Amy Rohler, executive director. “This is a special year,” added Rohler, “because it is the 40th anniversary of this important award.”

In addition to his involvement with labor, Swanson has volunteered for many organizations throughout the county. Nominated by both Jim Kurtz and Don Emhardt, Swanson spent almost 35 years with the telephone company in Westfield and was a member of Communication Workers of America Local 1115 (CWA Local 1115). He belonged to the Dewittville Fire Department for 44 years, serving in different positions with 19 years as the fire chief. This included working with a group of firefighters to maintain the facilities of the fire service through the county and assistance in remodeling both of the County Training Centers to aid in training the county firefighters

In addition, Swanson worked on the Mayville Ice Castle construction crew for the last 8 castles. He is also a member of the Dewittville Cemetery Association and spent many years as a volunteer at the Children’s Safety Village, where he educated more than 15,000 children over the course of his tenure. Burl and his wife Vicky live in Dewittville and are extremely proud of their two adult married children, both of whom are career army soldiers.

“We are proud to continue this tradition,” said David Wilkinson, IBEW Local 104 business manager and member of United Way of Southern Chautauqua’s Labor Committee.

The dinner honoring Swanson included members of several unions, including CWA Local 1115, CSEA Local 6300, IBEW Local 106, Kendall Club PBA and CSEA Local 807, Also in attendance were elected officials or their representatives from the City of Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist, County Executive PJ Wendell, NYS State Assemblyman Andrew Goodell and Congressman Tom Reed. Chuck DeAngelo, an attorney with Fessenden, Laumer & DeAngelo PLLC, was the Keynote Speaker, introduced by Mike Moots, former Executive Director of United Way of Southern Chautauqua County. The Joseph H. Mason Award: History & Background

Joe Mason was the directing business representative of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, District 65, representing southwestern New York and northwestern Pennsylvania.

His reputation for standing up for the causes of labor most importantly impacting the day-to-day lives of working men and women of our area is well known. Mason was recognized nationally for serving as the first co-chair of the labor management committee, a locally initiated revolutionary approach to labor relations. Mason was most importantly a long standing member of the United Way Board of Directors. He exemplified labor’s commitment to serving our community through his devotion to the United Way campaign.

After Mason’s passing on, the United Way Board of Directors created tonight’s award in recognition of labor’s critical contribution to the success of the United Way. What followed was 40 years of the United Way recognizing the critical role that local labor leaders play in serving our community, in addition to serving the interests of the union members they represent.

For more information about the United Way, call 483-1561 or visit uwayscc.org.