Janet David, a vibrant labor and civil rights champion who became the Guild’s first African-American staff representative, died March 11 of complications from a massive stroke suffered five weeks earlier. She was 79.
A lifelong Harlem resident, David retired in 2000 after working for TNG-CWA for nearly 20 years. She served Guild locals from Buffalo, N.Y., to Battle Creek, Mich., and a dozen cities in between. Upon retiring, she said her most cherished victories included tripling the membership during at organizing drive at Time, Inc., and helping an independent union at the Boston Globe affiliate with the Guild.
Former TNG-CWA President Linda Foley worked with her on the Globe campaign, and many others. She said David “never took anything or anyone for granted, and represented the Guild and its members with dignity and class.”
“Despite her New York panache and room-dominating presence, Janet was never unwilling or unavailable to take on any assignment, from stuffing envelopes to meeting potential members at their homes,” Foley said.
She said David, “had a particular way of relating to real people that made her a good organizer. Her co-workers often would tease her about how hotel clerks, waitresses and other customer-service workers seemed to be on a first-name basis with her, no matter what city or town she found herself in.”
TNG-CWA President Bernie Lunzer remembers David as an elegant woman with designer glasses, high spirits and a heart of gold. “She was loved by her coworkers and always understood the human side of Guild issues,” he said.
David joined the Guild in 1956 when she was hired as a cashier in the advertising department of the Amsterdam News, a Harlem-based weekly. In short order, she was elected unit chair. She served in that position for 10 years, overseeing contract enforcement for more than 100 Guild members.
In addition to her work in the advertising department, David wrote an arts and entertainment column for the paper called “Janet’s Spotlight.” African-American leaders and artists performing in New York regularly stopped by for interviews or simply to pay a courtesy call on David.
“I’ll never forget meeting black leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, who came by our paper during a black boycott of Blumstein’s Department Stores,” David said, as quoted in her retirement story. Among entertainers, she mentioned interviewing Sammy Davis Jr.
While serving as a temporary Guild organizer in the late 1970s, David helped organize the Bureau of National Affairs in Washington, D.C. Several years later, she was hired as staff.
Interviewed for her retirement story, David recalled the reactions of white male managers she faced in bargaining. “They didn’t know what to say to me,” she said, laughing. “I think I got more accomplished at the bargaining table because of that. For those management types, they rarely saw a woman at the negotiations, let alone an African-American woman.”
In 1983, David’s home unit went on strike against the Amsterdam News. The battle dragged on for nine months, but ended with a new contract.
In 1991, David received the Guild’s Service Award. She put in nearly another decade’s work before retiring. As she left, she said her heart was with the then-locked-out strikers in Detroit.
“The Guild strikers in Motown are among the most courageous union members I’ve ever met,” she said. “I’m proud that my last Guild assignment was to serve in Detroit, but I’m sorry I had to leave before this labor dispute is settled. That is my biggest regret.”
David is survived by her domestic partner, Richard Granady. “She was my best friend, my companion and my lady,” he said. “I miss the walks that we used to have, shopping at a flea market, going to the movies or concerts or favorite restaurants and driving to Atlantic City or Canada.”
David died at Harlem Hospital, where she was taken after her stroke. “She was well loved and respected in the Harlem community,” Granady said.