Guy T. Masters, President

• Bio: In the 1970’s, Guy attended a Community College in New York State for an Associates Applied Science degree. During which he worked for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. In the early 1980’s, he attended two non-accredited courses for Labor and Industrial Relations at Cornell Extension University in Long Island, New York. After which he worked as an organizer, an assistant director, and then as Director of Organizing for the Nursing Home & Hospital Employees Union (District Council 1115, HERE/SCIU). In 2004, he attended the National Labor College (George Meany Center) for negotiating and writing contract language.
• Accomplishments: While working at the Federation as Director of Organizing, he has had eleven voting unit elections—five of those within the Public sector and six within the private sector. Of these elections, the Federation has won ten or 91 percent. Four contracts have been negotiated, six are in the process of being negotiated and projections are good for contract accomplishments.
  
  “What I would like to accomplish within the next five years is to see the Private sector grow at least three times its current size and the Public sector to increase its membership by 2000 members within a five year time frame.”
• Qualifications: Guy has been active in the Labor movement for over 25 years. He was influenced to join the labor movement due to a desire to help show workers how organized labor can improve workers’ lives and give them a voice, something that is taken for granted by many.
  
  He started out as an organizer and moved up through the ranks to assistant director of organizing and Director of Organizing. While organizing approximately 10,000 workers in a ten year period for Nursing Homes and Hospital Employees Union District Council 1115 H.E.R.E. (Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees), AFL-CIO of New York and New Jersey. As Assistant Director of Organizing and Director of Organizing at District Council 1115, he supervised seven to twelve organizers. In the 10 period of active organizing, they kept a 75 percent winning average at NLRB elections and were able to negotiate contracts in 99 percent of the shops won. “The qualifications I have for my position is what I have learned, experienced and accomplished through my years in the movement and in life itself and a belief of holding true to the philosophy of teamwork, solidarity, union brothers and sisters uniting for one common cause as the betterment and enrichment of working families’ voices, rights and lives.”

Glynda Linton, Secretary-Treasurer

• Bio: Glynda is a native Floridian and attended Miami-Dade Community College, studying Early Childhood Education. After one year she changed her major to Business and transferred to Barry University and Nova University, where she also studied Labor Law. She is divorced and has 3 sons, Corey, Darryl and Christopher.
• Accomplishments: Outside of her local union responsibilities, she was also on the Executive Board of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, as well as the Executive Board of The A. Philip Randolph Institute and was later elected President of the Miami-Dade Chapter, which she held until 2006 and currently the Executive Vice President of the State Chapter. The A. Philip Randolph Institute is the affiliate Constituent group of the AFL-CIO, which educates the minority community of issues as it relates to working families; they do community services, voter education, voter registration and get-out-the-vote activities.
  
  She was elected to the Executive Board of the Juvenile Justice Community Services Board for the Miami Halfway House; which housed juvenile offenders, she served 3 years; Executive Board of the Le Jardin Child Development Center, which provided affordable childcare to the minority community; oversaw the Budget and Operations of the Centers. On the Board of Human Services Coalition, which held a drive to bring a Living Wage Ordinance to Miami-Dade County, and after the Living Wage was enacted, Glynda was appointed to serve on the Board of the Living Wage Commission by Commissioner Dennis Moss. She was a key organizer on the March on Tallahassee against Governor Jeb Bush and his onslaught of attacks on the citizen of Florida. Glynda was invited by WLRN-17 to discuss the social security concerns back in 1998 and Channel 39 to give the views on the March on Tallahassee and the impact on the Black Community. She was loaned to the United Way by BellSouth as a Loaned Executive where she spent 3 months on the fundraising campaign, and a Union Counselor trained by the United Way/AFL-CIO. Alumni of Leadership South Dade, class of 93/94, this was a historical class after Hurricane Andrew as they were instrumental into the redevelopment of the South Dade Community. She was a member of the Florida Speakers Bureau, Toastmasters and the National Association of Female Executives (NAFE).
• Qualifications: Glynda was very active in her former local union, Communication Workers of America (CWA) Local 3122. Her activism, lead her to hold several key positions within her union, she was a steward who represented mostly the Service Representatives, but she was occasionally called to assist in other units. Because she was such a strong advocate for workers, they elected her to Chair the Women and the Equity Committee within her local, which investigated and made recommendations for correction whenever discrimination was evident. Later, at the Communication Workers of America National Convention in Detroit, MI her Regional Representative for CWA voted her to be the Regional Representative for the Women and Equity Committee which covered nine states (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana and Kentucky). She held that position for 3 terms. While holding those positions, she was also elected to be the Legislative Chair for the Local Union where she traveled extensively between Washington D.C., Tallahassee and all states in between, lobbying Legislators on issues important to Telecommunications and CWA and working families. She held this position until she came to work for the Federation, where she has been a Business Representative since 1999. She has had many Leadership trainings from such schools as Florida International University, University of Georgia, University of Alabama and the George Meany Center.