Longtime local labor leader Dan DiClemente has died

Many people in the local labor community are mourning the passing of Dan DiClemente, a former longtime leader of BENTE (Board of Education Non-teaching Employees) Local 2419, which represents 1,250 support staff in the Rochester City School District.

He died Sunday at the age of 56 after a battle with cancer.

DiClemente led BENTE for more than 20 years. He retired from the union job a year ago, and that position is now held by Angelo Palmerini who knew DiClemente for 27 years.

“He’s very well respected by his peers in organized labor, especially in the public sector of organized labor and even in the private sector,” said Palmerini. “He was well-known, he was on many boards, committees, he was very involved in the labor movement.” Palmerini said that DiClemente’s death has hit staff at BENTE very hard, saying that it’s a “very, very difficult time around the office.”

Similar feelings were expressed in a statement Tuesday by Mayor Malik Evans who said that, “I am heartbroken on the passing of my longtime friend,” and called DiClemente “a tireless advocate for working families and workers across the nonprofit and public sectors.”

At the time of his death, DiClemente was still President of AFSCME Council 66, which represents 85 union locals across the state.

Calling hours for DiClemente are scheduled for Thursday, June 27, from 4-7pm at New Comer Cremations & Funerals, 2636 Ridgeway Ave. A Funeral Mass will be held Friday, June 28, 9:30am at St. Lawrence Church, 1000 N. Greece Road.