Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations Names Auditorium for Dominick Critelli Jr., Longtime Friend and Union Official Labor Education Center auditorium became de factor union hall for IFPTE Local 195

Critelli was president of the International

Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 195 from 1978 until his death in 2006. Dominick was an active supporter of labor education at Rutgers and a generous benefactor of the Labor Education Center, said Robert Angelo, director of the Rutgers Union Leadership Academy at SMLR. Under his leadership, the center became a de facto union hall for his 6,000-member local. In addition to educational programming, the auditorium hosted hundreds of membership meetings, conferences and negotiating sessions for Local 195 and other unions across the state.

Besides naming the auditorium for Critelli, for many years a resident of North Bergen in Hudson County, the meeting space will include a permanent exhibit depicting Critellis career, life and legacy in the labor movement. Critellis widow Elaine, IFPTE President Gregory J. Junemann and other officials are expected to attend the 11 a.m. ceremony at 50 Labor Center Way, off Route 1 South and Ryders Lane, New Brunswick.

Critelli was elected IFPTE Atlantic Area Vice President in 1982 and held various positions with Local 195. Before working for the local full time, he was a senior construction inspector for the state. He studied construction, technology and drafting at Bergen Community College and completed many courses offered by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the Labor Education Program at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

Critelli served on the Governors Worker Compensation Task Force, as a vice president of the Industrial Council of New Jersey and on the Rutgers Labor Management State Advisory Board. He was a member of the Public Employee Council of the State AFL-CIO and a member of the labor committee for the United Negro College Fund.

The mission of Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations is to create and disseminate knowledge that fosters a better understanding of the nature of employment and work in modern society, promotes harmony and cooperation between management and labor, and helps to improve employment systems and relationships.

Contact: Steve Manas
732-932-7084, ext. 612
E-mail: smanas@ur.rutgers.edu