Essex County Obituary: William Massey, Union Organizer and Attorney

Former New Jersey resident William Massey passed away on March 10.

The following obituary comes courtesy of the Codey & Jones Funeral Home:

“Desmond Massey, Esq., of Boynton Beach, FL, formerly of NJ, died peacefully on Thursday, March 10, 2016, surrounded by his loving daughters.

“At the time of his death, "Desi" was a partner at Fox Rothschild LLP of Roseland, NJ. Previously, Desi was a partner for 30+ years at Grotta, Glassman and Hoffman, where he began his legal career.

“Desi was born in Dublin, Ireland, to the late William Joseph Massey and Christina Mary Rice. He is survived by his wife, Sandra Lovitz Massey of New York City, NY; his devoted daughters, Sandy Tomburo and her husband Todd of Las Vegas, NV and Tara Hapward and her husband Curt of West Caldwell, NJ and their mother Judy Massey; loving sisters, Laura Steele, Dolores McCabe (Joe), Ena McGrattan, Eileen Miraglia (Richie), and a brother, Bill Massey (Bernie); cherished grandchildren, Todd, Tristan, Tierney, CJ, Connor and Kelly; Desi was predeceased by his sister Cis (Anne) White and brother, Jack. He also leaves behind several beloved nieces and nephews.

“Desi yearned for adventure from an early age. He left Dublin at age 15 for England, and then set out for the United States at age 21, with little in his pocket but a head full of dreams. Once in his new country, Desi headed out on an American Dream for the ages. He began waiting tables at the 744 Club in Newark, while he worked his way through Seton Hall University at night. Fascinated by American labor relations, Desi became a shop steward and organizer for Newark's hotel and restaurant workers union, where he ultimately rose to become its chief officer. Then, while earning his Seton Hall Law degree, also at night, Desi worked as a staff mediator for the NJ State Board of Mediation. It was there that Desi learned the real art of the deal.

“Because of his union background, his time spent as a neutral negotiator, and his unique blend of intelligence and street sense, Desi quickly became widely recognized as one of the premier labor negotiators in the United States. Over the course of forty years, Desi represented many hundreds of employers at bargaining tables in nearly every state. Desi's clients ranged from local "mom and pop" shops to mega corporations. During his career, Desi negotiated labor contracts with every major international union, and in doing so he cultivated life-long relationships with union leadership around the country. Desi was respected as a tough and worthy adversary, but union leaders also knew Desi's word was his bond.

“Although Desi worked for management, he was never anti-labor, and never anti-union. Desi never forgot his roots and so he had high regard for the working men and women who he always viewed as the heart and strength of his adopted country. As anyone who dined with Desi knows, he was particularly kind to any wait staff he met on his travels – because he led a restaurant union at the start of his career. He was proud of how he had worked his way up from humble beginnings in Ireland, he was thankful that America had provided him with endless opportunity, and he believed that providing the same opportunity to others was essential if America was to remain a great nation.

“Traveling 50 weeks a year was Desi's norm, as were sixteen-hour days. All-nighters were commonplace. Yet, Desi brought his best performance to every negotiation and routinely found ways to reach agreement in even the most extreme circumstances, most often by moving both parties past their mutual ill will and focusing them instead on the common good. Desi had a gift, or two. No matter how artful the adversary, Desi could see through the speeches, the rants, the posturing and the emotions (which Desi had himself mastered at a Shakespearian level) – and get to the heart of the real workplace issues that required fixing if there was to be a new collective bargaining agreement.

“Desi's timing was impeccable. He possessed a sixth-sense that told him when the time was right for an agreement to be made, even if the parties were talking about strikes and lockouts at the time. In this way, Desi not only kept a large number of businesses here in America, and profitable, but he saved tens of thousands of jobs at workplaces throughout the nation. Desi's skills, his insights, his incredible work ethic, his one-of-a-kind way with words, and his humanity will be sorely missed at the bargaining table.

“When Desi passed, his calendar was full. Those who knew him also know it couldn't have been any other way. Although Desi loved the theater, ballet, reading, traveling the world, and classical music, one of his greatest passions was sports, where he was an ardent fan of the NY Giants, the NJ Devils and, of course, his beloved Everton Football Club.

“Donations can be made to Seton Hall Law School in honor of Desmond Massey. Please visit here to make a gift online, or contact Andrea Cascarano at 973-642-8758 or andrea.cascarano@shu.edu. Please mention, or indicate in the comments, that you wish your gift to be in honor of Desmond Massey.”

Sign up for Patch email newsletters here.