In an exclusive interview with The Tribune yesterday, Mr. Black said being a union leader for the past 10 years and an active member since 1974 has been “very stressful.”
And at the age of 50 years Mr. Black said “I can’t continue to live off peanuts. I have been president now for 10 years and although it has been a lifetime labour of love and I wanted to make a difference in the teaching profession, I have a family to provide for.”
Taking care of the needs of the membership over the years, Mr. Black said he had hoped to attain all objectives and visions after his sixth year, however, he said, ” I realise that it took double that time and by 2005 all pieces of the puzzle would be in place and I will leave without remorse.”
The president said that when he took responsibility for the BUT, “I was appalled at the state of the union and applied all my administrative skills to make certain that it would run as ahigh performance organisation for teachers and to ensure that teachers shoulder their commitments as nation builders.”
At his age Mr. Black said he no longer has patience to entertain the unsrcupulous comments and backbiting that exists.
Source: Danielle Stubbs, The Tribune
