Ohio union leader drowns in NC

Associated Press

OCRACOKE, N.C.

A union leader from Ohio who went swimming with his wife after helping to settle a contract drowned at Ocracoke Island along North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

Seth Rosen of Westlake, vice president of District 4 of the Communications Workers of America, died Friday. He had finalized contract negotiations, by phone, with AT&T, and then went swimming with his wife, according to Policy Matters Ohio. Rosen was chairman of the board of Policy Matters.

His wife, Kathi Thomas Rosen, got to shore safely, Policy Matters said in a news release.

Rosen “was a true champion for workers’ rights and the middle class,” Ohio House Democratic Leader Armond Budish said in a statement Saturday.

As a CWA vice president, Rosen’s district covered 75,000 members in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. He also was the chairman of the CWA Executive Board’s Organizing Committee.

Hyde County spokeswoman Jamie Carter said emergency officials got the call about a drowning about 5 p.m. Friday. The county issued a rip-current alert for Thursday but not for Friday, she said. However, she says emergency responders reported the water was rough when they arrived.

Friends and family told Policy Matters Ohio that the tide came in with strong waves and a powerful undertow.