(The International Brotherhood of Teamsters issued the following on October 5. John Murphy is Director of the Teamsters Rail Conference.)
BOSTON — The national Irish American Unity Conference (IAUC) will present the first annual Durkan award to Teamster Vice President John F. Murphy on Saturday.
The Durkan award was named for Frank Durkan, a founding member of the IAUC, which works for peace and justice in a reunited Ireland. The Durkan award is presented to a trade union advocate.
Frank Durkan, who died last November in Connecticut, was a pillar of the Irish-American community who dedicated his life to the cause of Irish freedom. He fought for workers’ rights to organize, to a living wage and to workplace safety.
Murphy is being honored for his 40-year career as a Teamster.
“Frank Durkan understood that to support human rights you have to support worker rights,” Murphy said. “I am honored to receive this award. Labor unions are the only organizations that have consistently and historically fought for dignity in the workplace. If you don’t have worker rights in the workplace, you don’t have civil rights.”
Murphy will receive the award on Saturday, October 6, at the Boston Hyatt Harborside Hotel. Durkan’s widow and other family members will attend.
Murphy has been an Eastern Region vice president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters since 1998 and secretary-treasurer of Local 122 in Boston since 1980. Murphy was instrumental in merger negotiations with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes and now also serves as the director of the Teamsters Rail Conference.