Dennis Duffey: labor leader was a mentor and a visionary

Dennis Charles Duffey, a longtime Ohio labor leader who was a Navy veteran of the Vietnam War era, died Wednesday at his Perrysburg home. He was 77.

He died of lung cancer, after a 2½-year bout with the disease, his son, Rob Duffey, said.

“Dennis was a true labor leader at heart and soul,” said Mike Knisley, secretary-treasurer of the Ohio State Building & Construction Trades Council.

Mr. Duffey retired in March, 2007, after 15 years, or five consecutive terms, as business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 8 in Rossford. He then was the OSBCTC secretary-treasurer in Columbus for 10 years, from 2008 until 2018, when he retired permanently.

"I have a lot of mixed emotions," Mr. Duffey told The Blade before he attended his final IBEW meeting in Rossford, in March, 2007. "When you spend that much time with people, you get close to them. I definitely will miss that."

Previously, Mr. Duffey was president of Local 8 from 1983 to 1989 after 13 years as a trustee of the Local 8 health and welfare fund and the Local 8 pension fund, positions he held after he was a business agent for the union six years, recruiting new members and contractors.

“Besides being a strong labor leader, he was a true visionary,” Mr. Knisley said. “He has propelled our organization into what it is today — a respected organization of over 100,000 men and women who put on a hard hat every day to work in union construction here in Ohio.”

Shaun Enright, the Local 8 president and the business manager of Northwest Ohio Building & Construction Trades Council, echoed his words.

“Dennis was a great man,” Mr. Enright said. “He was a mentor and an all-around great person. He cared about people. And he represented the working men and women, staying active until the day he died.”

“The labor movement lost a great one,” Pete Rimsans, a labor expert, wrote in a sympathy note on the OSBTC official Facebook page. “Dennis was a fighter and visionary! The strategy and infrastructure he and his team laid out is a model for the nation.

“Everyone flew to Columbus/Toledo to learn what Dennis was doing. He was always willing to share and accepted every invitation to teach others.”

At the time Mr. Duffey retired, he also served on the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority board of directors and the Toledo Labor-Management-Citizens Committee.

But it's his chairmanship of the Lucas County Democratic Party's central committee that tended to garner the most attention.

Mr. Duffey was interim Lucas County treasurer in 2005 before Wade Kapszukiewicz took office and was rumored to be interested in the open county recorder's position. The party eventually endorsed Jeanine Perry for the position in February, 2007.

When asked about renewing his political interest, Mr. Duffey shied from possible future involvement. "I think I'm going to stay right where I'm at," he said. "I'll serve at the pleasure of the people. But if asked, I'll continue to serve as chairman of the central committee."

Mr. Duffey said at the time he was proud of a number of accomplishments while Local 8 business manager, including providing health benefits to surviving spouses of members, doubling the size of the training center, and increasing the union's membership 60 percent over the previous 15 years.

He also said he was pleased with strengthening the union's relationship with management, which had benefited the union, with roughly 140 employers who worked with union members at the time.

"I think we've come to the realization that we're a part of the business and not an entity onto ourselves," he said. "Since we've come to that realization -— and the national office has done the same thing — we consider ourselves to be partners with our different employer groups."

Jim Kozlowski, who replaced Mr. Duffey as business manager, said at the time Mr. Duffey had left an indelible imprint on the local IBEW and leaves the organization stronger than it was before.

"Dennis brought a vision to the industry and wasn't afraid to try new things," Mr. Kozlowski said. "He firmly believes with our management counterparts, we need each other to survive, and that feeling didn't always prevail in this industry."

While Lucas County interim treasurer he donated his salary to Sal’s Pals, a Sylvania group committed to helping find a cure for cystic fibrosis.

Mr. Duffey stepped in as the interim treasurer to make sure the county workers were taken care of, his son, Rob Duffey said.

“He was always for the worker,” the younger Mr. Duffey said. “That was his motto and his lifelong work — he didn’t begrudge the employer from doing well and being successful, he just made sure the workers got their fair wage and benefits. ... And he didn’t toot his own horn; he just went about his business and made sure it was taken care of.”

Mr. Duffey also volunteered as a tutor for the Read for Literacy program, a program he said he had always been interested in but never could join because of his hectic work schedule.

Additionally, he served on the board of directors of the Toledo Mud Hens and on the AFL-CIO Executive Council and volunteered for the Lucas County Democratic Party and the Lucas County Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services.

Born July 29, 1946, in Toledo to Ethel and Robert Duffey, he was raised in the area of North Detroit Avenue and Bancroft Street in central Toledo.

He attended the former Macomber Vocational Technical High School until volunteering for the Navy before graduating. He then served on a vessel in the Pacific until his honorable discharge in late 1967 or early 1968.

Upon his return to Toledo, he completed an IBEW apprenticeship before getting his journeyman’s card.

In his free time, he enjoyed golfing and traveling. He was also an avid fan of Ohio State University sports teams.

Mr. Duffey was preceded in death by his wife of 38 years Linda Duffey, who died in 2004, and three siblings.

He is survived by his wife of 17 years, Kathleen Duffey; son Robert Duffey; daughter Tammy Keller; stepdaughter Angela Carlozzi; stepsons, Rodney Carlozzi and James Carlozzi; 10 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Walker Funeral Home, Sylvania Township.

Funeral services will begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Hope Lutheran Church, 2201 Secor Rd.

The family suggests tributes to the Toledo Newsboys or the Hospice of Northwest Ohio.