The long-time service and incalculable contributions of Andrew Douglas, president of Philadelphia 14M and General Board member, were praised by Local 14M and International leaders at his retirement party in February.

GCIU Pres. George Tedeschi said Douglas "has been an outstanding asset to the General Board, the pension fund boards, and Graphic Communications National Health and Welfare Fund on which he serves. He will be sorely missed, but we wish him and his wife Chiyoko a long, happy, healthy, and certainly well-deserved retirement."

In a resolution, the Local 14M Executive Board expressed, "with deep appreciation, the important contributions and the many years of dedicated and unselfish service provided by Andrew Douglas."

After service in the Marines with the rank of sergeant, Douglas joined the union more than 40 years ago and worked as a stripper at Wm. Gormley Co., W.R. Johnston Co., Mid City Press, and Beck Offset Color.

In 1967, Douglas was elected recording secretary of then-Local 14L of the Lithographers and Photo Engravers International Union. In 1968, he became a full-time local representative on the organizing staff. Douglas was elected president of the local in 1984.

For his local, Douglas served as a trustee and chairman of the Local 14M Health and Welfare Fund, as a trustee to the local's Andrew J. Gress Graphic Arts Institute, and the Local 14M Scholarship Fund. He attended every International convention since 1969.

At the International level, Douglas has served as a member of the General Board for the Atlantic Region for 16 years, serving on the organizing and ad hoc appeals committees.

In the North American Newspaper Conference, Douglas served as the vice president for rotogravure.

He served as a trustee and chairman of the Inter-Local Pension Fund and as a trustee and member of the executive and finance committees of the GCIU Supplemental Retirement and Disability Fund.

As a trustee and union co-chairman of the Graphic Communications National Health and Welfare Fund, Douglas was instrumental in the restructuring of the fund five years ago to provide quality health care benefits at a lower cost to more GCIU members and employers. Douglas will continue to serve as a Local 14M trustee and chairman of the fund.

Douglas' dedication to improving benefits for GCIU members also led to his involvement with the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, the leading educational organization in the employee benefits field. Douglas was elected by his peers to serve in 2002 as president and chairman of the board of the foundation.