ILA Mourns The Passing of Dr. Thomas Mackell, Special Advisor To ILA President Harold Daggett and Executive Director of Maritime Labor Alliance
NORTH BERGN, NJ – It is with great sadness that the International Longshoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO reports the passing of Dr. Thomas Mackell, Special Advisor to ILA President Harold J. Daggett and the Executive Director of the Maritime Labor Alliance. Dr. Mackell passed away early this morning, on Monday, October 10, 2016
“It is a heartbreaking day for the ILA and the entire maritime industry to report the passing of Thomas Mackell,” said ILA President Harold J. Daggett. “Tom’s contribution to our ILA and to working men and women is vast and he brought a high level of competence, intelligence and integrity to our great union. We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to his wife, Eileen Flannelly Mackell and the entire Mackell family.”
Shortly after Harold Daggett was first elected International President of the ILA in July 2011, he named Dr. Mackell as a Special Assistant to the ILA President. During his six years in that role, Dr. Mackell has advised and guided the ILA in areas of Public Affairs, Government Relations, Pension and Health and Negotiating Strategy.
“He brought a wealth experience to the table and knew his way around Washington,” said ILA President Daggett. “I don’t know of an individual in our industry who was more highly regarded and respected than Dr. Mackell.”
Dr. Mackell was a member of ILA Local 1804-1.
Dr. Mackell was the Administrator of the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association’s jointly administered trust fund for 14 years and worked for over 20 years in the investment management and financial services industry with Taft-Hartley, public, corporate pension funds and endowments and foundations on asset allocation and corporate governance issues.
The author of a book, “When the Good Pensions To Away: Why America Needs a New Deal for Pension and Health Care Reform,” he was a frequent guest commentator on national radio and television shows and speaks at investment and employee benefit conferences throughout the country.
Dr. Mackell was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond on January 1, 2003 and served as Deputy Chairman from June 2003 and as Chairman from January 2, 2005 until the end of 2008. In President Bill Clinton’s Administration, he was also a White House appointee to the ERISA Advisory Council to the Secretary of Labor from 1997 through 1999.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of Radius Bank, President of the Association of Benefit Administrators and Editor of its newsletter, Insights, and a member of the Advisory Board of Grandparents.com.
He has had a life-long career in the management, administration and investment management of employee benefit funds, in the financial services and asset management industry and in public relations, public affairs and political consulting.
A year ago, Dr. Mackell was appointed Executive Director of the Maritime Labor Alliance (MLA), an organization founded by ILA president Daggett and comprised of six leading U.S. Maritime Unions.
Tom Mackell worked tirelessly, on behalf of the ILA and MLA fighting anti-union legislation proposed in U.S. Congress to strip collective bargaining and free association rights away from longshoremen as well as ongoing attacks against the Jones Act and the proliferation of so-called “Free Trade” bills designed to concentrate more wealth in the hands of the few.
Funeral arrangements are as follows: Wake on Wednesday, October 12th from 2 pm to 5 pm and 7 pm to 9 pm at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home, Presidential Suite, 1076 Madison Avenue (at 81st Street), New York, NY 10028, phone 212-288-3500. Funeral Mass at 10 am., Thursday, October 13th, 2016 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Fifth Avenue and 50th Street, New York, NY.