Retiree Event at Belmont Race Track

Some won when they picked a winning horse. Others won with a winning raffle ticket. But everyone had a good time when more than 300 retired laborers gathered at Belmont Racetrack for the Mason Tenders District Council’s annual Day at the Races.

“It’s all about the old-timers as far as I’m concerned,” said Victor Rizzo, Treasurer-Secretary of Local 79. He thanked the retirees for their years of hard work and their support for the union.
Rizzo brought Peter Panza, Local 79’s oldest active member up to podium. At 94-years old, Panza still walks picket lines. He was honored for his service at the recent conference of the Laborers International Union of North America in Las Vegas. “Thousands of LIUNA members, a whole room full of people, were shouting Peter’s name,” said Rizzo.

Throughout the day, the retirees lined up to place their bets on their lucky horses. “I’m ahead of the game,” said Tom Clarke, a 15-year veteran of Local 79. He had lost all his bets on the horses, but he won a digital camera in the event’s raffle.

There’s always a raffle at a Laborer’s Retiree event: This time the top prize was a 42-inch flat-screen television from Insignia. Ralph Lee, a 32-year member of Local 79 won it. He plans to use it to enjoy his favorite Westerns: “I like the Shoot `em ups… John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson,” he said. Other prizes included more flat-screen TVs, toaster ovens, coffee makers and digital cameras.

The retirees had the perfect food for a day at the races: roasted chicken, hot dogs and sauerkraut, corn on the cob and, of course, lots of fresh coffee to stay alert as the horses ran the track.

After feasting, seniors also lined up to have their blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol checked by two registered nurses. To help keep laborers healthy and strong, the union offers about 16 free health screening a year.  “It’s good preventative medicine and sometimes it has caught serious problems,” said Mickey Kelly, director of New York State Health and Safety Fund for LIUNA.

Union leaders also reminded the retirees that the union still needs their help — especially with the attacks on unions from politicians across the country. “They came for the public sector union first, now they’re coming for us,” said Bobby Bonanza, business manager for the Mason Tenders District Council Greater New York.

 “Get out to vote,” he asked the retirees. “We will not tell you what to do in the voting booth. But will be in touch with you with information on which candidates are supporting what we do.”

Permalink