Arthur A. Coia died last week at age 82. The Providence native was a pioneer in the U.S. labor movement and best-known as a former president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America.
Afternoon Host Dave Fallon discussed Coia’s legacy with Scott Malloy, an expert on union history, a professor emeritus at URI, and a former head of the Rhode Island Transit Union himself.
Interview Highlights
On Coia’s career as a labor leader
Scott Malloy: Well, he had a long time presence in Rhode Island itself, where he built up his reputation. His dad was also the general secretary-treasurer of the Laborers’ International Union in Washington, so he had a step ahead of everyone else. Arthur was an unusual guy. He was cross-fertilized in many ways, in that he could talk to a ditch digger and he could talk to a lawyer; in fact, he was a lawyer himself. He could talk to politicians. He was very comfortable in almost any setting.
He was one guy who thought outside the box, and he’s one of the few labor people I ever knew who had an entrepreneurial stripe to him. And you might say, ‘What does that mean?’ Entrepreneurial and labor don’t really seem to go together. But Arthur had this conception of upgrading the laborers union in terms of hierarchy and the building trades. The laborers were at the bottom of the ladder; steam fitters, the electricians and others were at the top. But they had really no particular skill other than hard work. He set out to change that, and what he did was fascinating.
He set up training centers around the country, about 15 of them. He trained his workers for a new kind of work, and it was cleaning up Superfund sites [cleaning up hazardous materials.]… And the problem was most management construction unions wouldn’t bid on those jobs because there was no light at the end of the tunnel. You didn’t know what you were getting into; nuclear waste, toxic chemicals. He trained his members how to deal with all that stuff.
I went out to Pomfret, Connecticut, to see this in action. The laborer came out in a space suit. I’m telling you, he could have been with Flash Gordon. There was no part of his body that touched anything. It was all uniform, and when they were done, they took it off and disposed of it. So he trained them, but that wasn’t the end of it.
He then put on management seminars. The union organized management to come to seminars, and he got up along with other labor leaders from that union and explained to these hardcore management folks – construction guys, they’re tough – how they could make money on this. And he said, “What we can provide for you is a skilled, trained, certified workforce. All you have to do is bid on them. We’ve got government authorization on this. If there are overruns, they will pay because they understand this kind of work is difficult.” Arthur did that. To me, that was one of the most incredible things I’d ever witnessed.
On Coia’s political savviness and leadership style
Malloy: He was able to become vice-president of the national AFL-CIO, which of course is the ruling body for labor. He then became head of the Human Rights and Personnel Relations [for the international labor movement.] He was able to bring his voice for respect for working people and whatnot to the highest levels internationally. At home, he was a real power in the Democratic party, and he was able to influence many of their stances on things relating to working people.
He understood how the other side worked. He respected the problems they faced because in the end it was the same problems that his members faced in ways. He inculcated, I think, that mentality in himself and went out and did something about it, but in a way that didn’t alienate people as often times you see in labor management.
On Coia’s legacy as a leader of the labor movement
Malloy: He never forgot his roots. He stayed close to the Italian-American community. He set up a scholarship fund operated mainly out of Providence College for the children of union members. He never developed that arrogance that can sometimes come with power. He got back to Rhode Island frequently, stayed close to the people that he grew up with. He was a really down to earth guy and gave ordinary people the opportunity to be somebody, to make a heck of a good living, and to be protected in terms of health and safety, all in the same punch.
