Tim Costello (labor advocate)
Encyclopedia
Timothy Mark "Tim" Costello (June 13, 1945 – December 4, 2009) was an American
labor and anti-globalization
advocate who started his career as a truck driver
, driving fuel trucks and as a long-haul trucker. He was one of the founders of the North American Alliance for Fair Employment (NAAFE), a network of organizations opposed to the use of temporary workers.
Costello was raised in Dedham, Massachusetts
. His father was president of a railway car welders union local. He graduated in 1964 from the Huntington School for Boys in Boston, before attending Goddard College
, Franconia College
and The New School
, all without earning a degree. It wouldn't be until 1990 when he would ultimately earn his degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston
.
He started driving oil trucks while in New York and continued to do so after returning to Boston in 1971. While in Boston, he shifted to long-haul truck driving and became a critic of corruption in the Teamsters
union. After meeting labor historian Jeremy Brecher in 1973, the two co-authored the book Common Sense for Hard Times during the recession in the mid-1970s, using his travels around the country to document the economic downturn's effects on younger workers, often writing in the back of his truck; The two would collaborate for the next 35 years.
He founded the Campaign on Contingent Work in 1999, which became part of the NAAFE. In 2005, Costello created Global Labor Strategies to foster the formation of international alliances opposed to the lowering of working standards and wages resulting from globalization.
His 2000 book, Globalization From Below: The Power of Solidarity, was described by The New York Times
as "a primer for labor advocates who argued that globalization was destroying jobs and reducing wages in the United States while exploiting workers in Asia". Other works co-authored with Jeremy Brecher include Building Bridges: The Emerging Grassroots Coalition of Labor and Community (1990) and Global Village or Global Pillage: Economic Reconstruction From the Bottom Up (1994).
at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts
. He is survived by his wife, Susanne Rasmussen, as well as by two daughters, two grandchildren and a brother.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
labor and anti-globalization
Anti-globalization movement
The anti-globalization movement, or counter-globalisation movement, is critical of the globalization of corporate capitalism. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalist movement, anti-corporate globalization movement, or...
advocate who started his career as a truck driver
Truck driver
A truck driver , is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck.Truck drivers provide an essential service to...
, driving fuel trucks and as a long-haul trucker. He was one of the founders of the North American Alliance for Fair Employment (NAAFE), a network of organizations opposed to the use of temporary workers.
Costello was raised in Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,729 at the 2010 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest by Westwood and on the southeast by...
. His father was president of a railway car welders union local. He graduated in 1964 from the Huntington School for Boys in Boston, before attending Goddard College
Goddard College
Goddard College is a private, liberal arts college located in Plainfield, Vermont, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Goddard College currently operates on an intensive low-residency model...
, Franconia College
Franconia College
Franconia College was a small experimental liberal arts college in Franconia, New Hampshire, United States. It opened in 1963 on the site of The Forest Hills Hotel on Agassiz Road, and closed in 1978, after years of declining enrollment and increasing financial difficulties.A small, eclectic...
and The New School
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
, all without earning a degree. It wouldn't be until 1990 when he would ultimately earn his degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston
University of Massachusetts Boston
The University of Massachusetts Boston, also known as UMass Boston, is an urban public research university and the second largest campus in the five-campus University of Massachusetts system. The university is located on on Harbor Point in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States...
.
He started driving oil trucks while in New York and continued to do so after returning to Boston in 1971. While in Boston, he shifted to long-haul truck driving and became a critic of corruption in the Teamsters
Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors....
union. After meeting labor historian Jeremy Brecher in 1973, the two co-authored the book Common Sense for Hard Times during the recession in the mid-1970s, using his travels around the country to document the economic downturn's effects on younger workers, often writing in the back of his truck; The two would collaborate for the next 35 years.
He founded the Campaign on Contingent Work in 1999, which became part of the NAAFE. In 2005, Costello created Global Labor Strategies to foster the formation of international alliances opposed to the lowering of working standards and wages resulting from globalization.
His 2000 book, Globalization From Below: The Power of Solidarity, was described by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as "a primer for labor advocates who argued that globalization was destroying jobs and reducing wages in the United States while exploiting workers in Asia". Other works co-authored with Jeremy Brecher include Building Bridges: The Emerging Grassroots Coalition of Labor and Community (1990) and Global Village or Global Pillage: Economic Reconstruction From the Bottom Up (1994).
Death
Tim Costello died at age 64 on December 4, 2009 of pancreatic cancerPancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. He is survived by his wife, Susanne Rasmussen, as well as by two daughters, two grandchildren and a brother.