Bruce S. Raynor, secretary-treasurer of UNITE, the pre-eminent textile and apparel union in North America, is the recipient of the 1999 Judge William B. Groat Alumni Award from Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR).

The Groat award is given annually by the ILR school to honor graduates who are exceptional professionals in the field of industrial and labor relations as well as outstanding supporters of the school. Raynor earned a B.S. degree at the ILR school in 1972.

In his current post, Raynor heads the national organizing program for UNITE and is responsible for contract negotiations with the nation's leading apparel manufacturers, among them Levi Strauss & Co., Liz Claiborne, Pillowtex-Fieldcrest-Cannon and Brooks Brothers. He has been praised by top management for being a bold and innovative bargainer and problem solver. Unionists consider him one of the key figures in today's labor movement and credit him with the revival in trade unions.

"Bruce exemplifies the best of Cornell and the ILR school," wrote Jack Sheinkman, an ILR alumnus who is a past president of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union. Sheinkman praised Raynor for his role in negotiating "some of the best and most innovative agreements in the nation in one of its most challenging and difficult bargaining environments."

Raynor began his career in 1973 in the education department of the former Textile Workers Union of America (TWU), becoming education director in 1974. He credited student activism and his involvement in the civil rights movement with inspiring him to join the union movement "and fight for a more just society." In the late 1970s, the TWU merged with the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America to become ACTWU. Raynor became a leader of ACTWU and played a major part in the union's successful drive to organize workers at J.P. Stevens, dramatized in the Oscar-winning 1979 movie "Norma Rae."

While serving as director of ACTWU's southern region, Raynor increased membership by 20,000 over a 10-year period, despite frequent plant closings as textile companies moved

their manufacturing facilities overseas. He was elected international vice president of the union in 1981 and executive vice president in 1993, positions he held while continuing to manage the southern region. In 1995 ACTWU merged with the International Ladies Garment Workers Union to form UNITE -- the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees -- and Raynor was elected executive vice president of the merged unions. He assumed his current position in 1998.

Commenting on the value to society of labor organizing, Raynor said: "Unions give working people the ability to have power over their own lives. Too many companies think they can make profits by stepping over their workforce. But companies can also take a high-road approach toward labor-management relations, rewarding workers and increasing productivity." He cited Levi Strauss, Liz Claiborne, Hartmarz and TJX as examples of successful companies that chose the high road.

Raynor is national chair of the AFL-CIO's Task Force of Elected Leaders, a committee of 10 international union officers who work to promote union organizing. In addition he is a member of the executive committee of the Southern Regional Council, the oldest multiracial civil rights organization in the southern United States. At Cornell, he is a university trustee and a member of the ILR School's Advisory Council. He spearheaded the drive to fund the school's chair in collective bargaining, which is named for Sheinkman.

"We are fortunate to have alumni like Bruce," said ILR Dean Edward Lawler. "In addition to his career accomplishments, he has an interest in today's students and an involvement in the school's activities that are inspirational and an example to others."

Among the labor and management leaders who spoke about Raynor's accomplishments at the award ceremony in New York City on April 20 were John Wilhelm, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union; Joseph Gromek, president and CEO of Brooks Brothers; and Edgar Romney, executive vice president of UNITE.

Raynor's award is named for the late Judge William B. Groat, who was counsel to the New York State Joint Legislative Committee on Industrial and Labor Conditions and played a pivotal role in the founding of the ILR School and the drafting of its charter. The Groat award is presented annually by the ILR Dean's Advisory Council and ILR Alumni Association on behalf of the school.