(OLEAN) – In recent years, Organized Labor has been - and still is depending on whom you talk to - in a state of transition.  Battling inaccurate and negative stereotypes, dealing with outsourced jobs to off-shore lands, the “Great Recession” revisited and an ever-transforming economy have all contributed to our current day, tumultuous climate that Organized Labor, Unions and their Members now find themselves living in.

However, for many of those years, Hobart Rhinehart has been a constant in the World of Organized Labor across Cattaraugus and Allegany counties in the Southern Tier of Western New York.  

“Hobie” - as he is better known to so many - has served as president of the Cattaraugus-Allegany AFL-CIO County Central Labor Council (CLC), which counts 10 affiliated Unions that combine to represent 10,000 Union Members across Cattaraugus and Allegany counties, for the past 15 years.  And during the time he’s headed the CLC’s Executive Committee, Hobie has seen and dealt with - first-hand - the challenges and subsequent changes Organized Labor and Union Members alike have faced over the course of time. 

“Organized Labor has lost some of its clout, but it’s still just as important,” Rhinehart said during a recent interview with WNYLaborToday.com in Olean.  “Unions have pushed for benefits that non-Union Workers get too.  Benefits, wages and hours – those are ‘bread and butter’ in Unions, and eventually laws were passed that set up a forty-hour work week.  All of that wouldn’t have come if Unions hadn’t pushed for it.”

As president of the Cattaraugus-Allegany CLC, Rhinehart has stood in the forefront of the Union Movement in the Southern Tier by continuing Organized Labor’s fight for better benefits, wages and conditions for all workers.

Being involved and playing a role in politics, work actions and the day-in, day-out camaraderie and positive relationships he’s grown with so many other Unions and their members over the years are just some of his favorite and personal memories of being involved in Organized Labor.

However, there’s one area of his involvement that rises like cream to the top of the bowl: seeking justice for workers.

Specifically, Rhinehart highlighted a “Sweat-Free Project” that was aimed at tackling sweatshop-produced goods in the marketplace, as well as helping to eliminate sweatshops altogether.

“We worked on sweatshops so people don’t have to work long hours without the pay,” he said. “Probably the biggest thing in New York State is (Unions) have gotten many universities and colleges to agree to buy Union-made products – hats, uniforms – things like that.”

Rhinehart’s positive impact hasn’t only been facilitated through his work as president of the Cattaraugus-Allegany CLC.

For nearly the past 20 years, Hobie’s served as president and on the Advisory Board of the Cattaraugus County Museum and Research Center in the Cattaraugus County Town of Machias.  It’s a post Rhinehart enjoys because of the museum’s mission and the people who are involved.  “We have different exhibits and we have a lot of people who come in and research – it’s a community effort – and I think we do good work for people,” he said. “We also have part-time employees, a historian and a curator, and they’re all excellent people, who do an excellent job.”

As if Rhinehart didn’t already have enough on his plate, he also helped establish the CCSE (formerly known as the Cattaraugus County School Employees) Federal Credit Union back in 1977.  During the past 33 years, the credit union has grown to reach $25 million in assets.  

Rhinehart’s continued dedication was recognized this past June as the Credit Union Association of New York honored him as its 2010 Outstanding Volunteer. 

It was not the first award that Hobie has received in his long and distinguished Union career.  “I’ve got enough awards to cover the walls of my office, if I wanted to,” he joked.

In short - Rhinehart said he “enjoys helping people” and promoting a volunteer-infused mentality that’s allowed him to gain such recognition on behalf of standing up and working hard for Working People.

Outstanding is certainly the perfect adjective to describe Rhinehart - who started his Union career as a manufacturing worker for the Globar Corporation, a division of the Carborundum Company – in Niagara Falls year ago, where he helped produce Globar, which is used in electric furnaces.  After 10 years in that job, he decided to go to college and subsequently became a teacher at Cattaraugus High School (now known as Cattaraugus-Little Valley High School) where he taught Social Studies to kids in Grades 9, 11 and 12 for 28 years.

While he’s had a long and productive run with Organized Labor, Rhinehart told WNYLaborToday.com during our recent interview that he’s considering stepping down from his position as Cattaraugus-Allegany CLC president before the upcoming election in 2011.

“I’ve been (president) long enough, maybe too long,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m getting physically restricted, so I get the feeling I should be stepping down soon.”

If Rhinehart does decide to step away as president of the Cattaraugus-Allegany CLC, he says he will continue to be active in Organized Labor, including continuing to serve as president of the NYSUT (New York State United Teachers) Retirees Division that covers Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany and Steuben counties across the Southern Tier.

Needless to say, when Hobie Rhinehart does indeed step down and no longer heads the Cattaraugus-Allegany CLC, his successor will have some very large shoes to fill.

That person will also be following a dedicated individual who’s been truly outstanding in his service to Organized Labor and Working People alike across the Southern Tier.