Opinion
Caputo makes most of his unique qualities of leadership
There were probably few outside of friends and colleagues who had heard the name Mike Caputo in 1996.
It turns out that 1996 was a significant year for Caputo — he was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates to represent Marion County and he earned a full-time job with the United Mine Workers of America as a COMPAC coordinator for the state.
After only 13 years, Caputo has risen in the ranks of both the House and the UMWA. Last year, he was selected as the majority whip, the third-most-powerful position in the House of Delegates. And Wednesday, he took an oath to serve as the UMWA's District 31 international vice president, putting him in the position to lead 40 local unions and more than 16,500 members.
“I never thought in my wildest dreams that a boy from Rivesville with only a high school education would eventually serve the state of West Virginia in the House of Delegates,” Caputo told the Times West Virginian. “When I heard that first grievance (on the local union level), I didn’t have it in my mind that someday I would be part of the international union executive board.
“I love what I do, and I love serving people,” he explained. “I live it, basically. I guess when you work hard those kinds of things happen.”
It takes hard work, but it also takes a little more. It takes a hand that is always offered. It takes an ear that is not just ready to listen, but to help in any way. It takes the gumption to fight for what you believe in, even if it isn’t the popular thing to do.
“A lot of people push buttons but don’t speak,” said Carlo Tarley, the former UMWA secretary/treasurer. “You know what side Mike is on. Mike makes it really clear that he is on the side of workers.”
Those unique qualities of leadership are probably what led to his rise politically and professionally and are the reasons why UMWA President Cecil Roberts selected Caputo as part of the slate of his re-election campaign. Caputo will now be at the top of UMWA leadership as part of the international executive board, made up of six district vice presidents and three at-large members.
“I’ve known Mike for more than 20 years, and I’ve always known him to be incredibly smart and a strong supporter of working families and their communities,” Roberts told the Times West Virginian. “He cares about people, cares about their jobs, cares about what kind of lives they lead and what kind of future their children will have. Mike has always worked to do whatever he can to make their lives and their children’s future better.”
Of course no one, not even Caputo himself, knew the endless possibilities when he became a member of the UMWA on Feb. 22, 1977, as he took a job as a teenager at the Federal No. 2 mine. He was following in the footsteps of his father, Frank, and his grandfather, Joe. He was a young man trying to earn a living in the mines.
And who could have known that in 1996, when Caputo won a close race for the House of Delegates that he would make it to the top tier of leadership, returning the House back to the people of West Virginia?
What it takes is the right person in the right position at the right time. Caputo’s new appointment to the UMWA’s international executive board is yet another example.
- Opinion
-
-
Labor: Our stabilizing and strengthening force for good
The most grandiose idea birthed in the mind of a brilliant professional will forever remain dormant and useless until it reaches the productive hands of labor.
The American labor force has distinguished itself from generation to generation for its ability to produce, with accuracy and dependability, any task it was given. -
‘The Cure’ for economy remains elusive
When you’ve got a nasty cold, it seems like everyone has The Cure and you’ve just got to try it.
A hot toddy.
Chicken soup and cough syrup.
Orange juice and plenty of rest.
And maybe you’ve tried them a time or two. And, in some cases, The Cure eases the symptoms, but it never makes the cold go away. -
Supercomputer ‘beacon’ builds credibility of I-79 High Tech Corridor
We don’t just consider the announcement of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s latest project as one more piece of the I-79 Technology Park puzzle.
When the West Virginia High Tech Consortium announced this week that NOAA would be building a supercomputer in Fairmont at the high-tech park, a lot of words came to mind, but one in particular.
Beacon. -
Love of helping students propels FSHS principal to state recognition
Chad Norman, principal of Fairmont Senior High School, believes that one of the most important aspects of being in his position is loving the students under his guidance.
He says “you have to love to work with kids. And I do love working with them, spending time with them, helping to mold and shape them.” -
New nuisance ordinance will give residents peace and quiet
We’ve all been there.
The neighbors are playing their music at a high volume. So high, in fact, that you can hear the lyrics as plainly as if the music were playing in your own home. It’s getting late, and you’ve got a long day ahead. The police are called, but they can do nothing because of ineffective laws that prohibit citations from being issued. -
Ethics law’s ‘revolving door’ should be reviewed
West Virginia’s governmental ethics law — like its counterpart in nearly every state — bans the “revolving door” custom through which state officials deal with private firms, then resign to take lucrative jobs with the same firms, or quit to become lobbyists pressuring their former colleagues. Somehow, this practice seems too cozy to be desirable.
-
It’s time ‘brick wall’ Greater Marion PSD customers have hit finally is taken down
It’s a situation no one should have to deal with for a day.
Let alone a decade.
Carolina, Idamay and Kellytown residents are still waiting for groundbreaking on a project to grant them relief from numerous sewage system issues that have been plaguing the small communities for years. -
‘Ground Zero Mosque’ sparks big debate
It is perhaps the biggest debate to hit the nation involving the Islamic faith since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when radical extremists were responsible for the deaths of thousands in New York City, Southwestern Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
-
Let your voice be heard at polls during primary for Senate seat
What are you doing on Saturday?
It’s the last weekend in August. Next weekend is set aside for Labor Day. That’s the last weekend of the summer. But what are you doing this weekend?
Maybe going swimming? Perhaps going shopping? Or maybe going out of town this weekend and staying home for the Mountaineer football game next weekend? You could have a picnic planned. -
Head injuries must never be taken lightly at any level
It’s time for the lights to go on Friday night in stadiums across the state.
- More Opinion Headlines
-
Labor: Our stabilizing and strengthening force for good
