Karl, Frank

Frank Karl was born in the small town of South Bethlehem, NY, just outside of Albany. Later the family moved to Albany, where he attended school. He graduated from Hudson Valley Community College with an Associates degree in 1956, and soon went to work for AT&T (and joined Communications Workers of America, Local 1151) in Albany. He became actively involved in union affairs in 1958, during heated debates over whether the Local should support a Western Electric strike that was on at the time. In the same year he was elected president of the Local, a position he was to hold for the next 33 years.

Frank Karl retired from both AT&T and the CWA in 1990. As president, Karl administered an annual budget of $60,000 and was responsible for a membership, at its peak, of 340, a figure which represents well over 90% of eligible AT&T employees in the area..

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