Shareholders of the Union Labor Life Insurance Company (ULLICO) elected a new board of directors that includes GCIU Pres. George Tedeschi.

Tedeschi, who also was named to serve on ULLICO's executive board, said that the new board of directors "hopes to bring stability to the company and maintain its profitable status. ULLICO will continue to be an insurance company specializing in labor's needs and a union friendly investment tool for pension funds."

Founded in 1925 by unions to serve unions and their members, ULLICO offers insurance products and investment services. ULLICO's pension investment fund, known as "J for Jobs," exceeded $2 billion at the end of 2002. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2002, J for Jobs had a five-year annualized return of 9.38 percent, compared with 7.55 percent for the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Index, ULLICO announced.

At their May meeting, shareholders also elected Laborers Pres. Terence O'Sullivan to serve as chairman of the ULLICO board of directors and as chief executive officer.

In a statement, O'Sullivan said: "Today, we have taken a giant leap in the right direction for ULLICO and the working men and women that we serve. The new board of directors, and I as the new chairman and CEO, are dedicated to making ULLICO an example of accountability for all corporate America. We will not waste a minute getting started."

ULLICO's previous officers and board had been under the shadow of accusations of insider stock trading. The previous board of directors hired former Illinois Gov. James Thompson to investigate the accusations. Thompson found no technical violations of the law with regard to stock trading but made a series of remedial recommendations, which the new board voted to adopt in a resolution. Included in the resolution is a request that board members who profited from stock transactions return the profits to the company.

O'Sullivan succeeds Robert A. Georgine as the ULLICO chairman and CEO. AFL-CIO Pres. John J. Sweeney thanked Georgine, the former long-time president of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department, "for his years of service to ULLICO and his commitment to a smooth transition for the best long-term interests of the company."

Sweeney said that the shareholders' actions at ULLICO "are what should happen at every American company that has faced similar problems. . . . With O'Sullivan's leadership and with outstanding directors – both those who are from the public and private sector and those who bring their expertise from within the labor movement – ULLICO will be able to meet its highest potential as a strong and noble working families' financial institution."

Three members of the previous board will serve on the new board: O'Sullivan; Plumbers Pres. Martin J. Maddaloni; and Bricklayers Pres. John J. Flynn. In addition to Tedeschi, the new union members of the 15-member board are: AFL-CIO Secy.-Treas. Richard L. Trumka; Sheet Metal Workers Pres. Michael J. Sullivan; Asbestos Workers Pres. James Grogan; Elevator Constructors Pres. Dana A. Brigham; Electrical Workers Secy.-Treas. Jerry O'Connor; Ironworkers Pres. Joseph J. Hunt; and Edward C. Sullivan, president of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department.

The four new independent board members include former U.S. Labor Secy. Alexis Herman; James Heczko, president of Opus Investment Advisors; Abner Mikva, retired federal appeals court judge; and Richard Ravitch, a New York real estate and business expert who chairs the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust's Board of Trustees.

Tedeschi succeeds retired GCIU Pres. Kenneth J. Brown on the ULLICO board.