Ray Boland

Raymond J. Boland, a vice president of the GCIU and its predecessor unions for 25 years, died in Santa Fe on Jan. 10 following a long battle with myasthenia gravis. He was 83.

GCIU Pres. George Tedeschi, who worked with Boland on the General Board and the North American Newspaper Conference, expressed condolences to Boland's family. "Ray was the best kind of trade unionist who excelled at organizing and ideas. He always brought a unique perspective to any discussion and could be counted on to look to the future," Tedeschi said.

A native of Chicago, Boland joined Paper Handlers Union No. 2 in 1948 when he worked at the Manz Corp. He served as a chapel chairman and on the scale committee. He became a vice president of the local in 1950 and served in that post until 1955.

In the mid-1950s, Boland went on staff as a representative with the Chicago Joint Council made up of locals with International Printing Pressmen and Assistants' Union (IPPAU).

In 1956, late IPPAU Pre. Thomas E. Dunwody appointed Boland as an International representative. He served in that post until 1966, when he was elected to fill out the unexpired term of IPPAU Vice Pres. Patrick O'Sullivan, who had died the previous year.

Boland was re-elected vice president in IPPAU, International Printing and Graphic Communications Union (IPGCU), and GCIU elections from 1968 through 1988.

Boland served on the committee that guided the merger of the IPPAU and Stereotypers and Electrotypers International Union to form the IPGCU in 1973. Ten years later, he served as a merger committee member when the IPGCU and Graphic Arts International Union (GAIU) became the GCIU.

As a founder of the North American Paper Handlers Conference, Boland attended every meeting of that group for 24 years until it merged with the North American Newspaper Conference in 1990.

Boland chaired the GCIU General Board's Organizing Committee from 1983 until his retirement in 1991, which he called during an interview with the Graphic Communicator one of the highlights of his life. He recalled the first organizing campaign he worked on that was successful and added: "Over the years, whatever organizing drive I was on, particularly if it was successful, was a highlight. Even the losses were never regretted. . . . One thing I would like to see in the future of the GCIU is for organizing to again become a number one priority."

Boland's wife Anita said that "Ray dedicated his entire life to the union. I was so proud to think how many people he helped through his work."

In a statement on Boland's retirement in 1991, the General Board recognized him "as the resident expert on the union constitution, a person with a sense of the history of our union and the industry, and one able to bring this historical perspective to the discussion on new policies and programs."

Boland served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1946 in the South Pacific. He continued in the Naval Reserve until 1952.

In addition to Anita, survivors include his son Fred and wife Sally; son Dennis and wife Peggy; stepson James; five grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; and two great-great grandchildren.