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Stan Souza, 66,
Newspaper Guild leader

OBITUARIES

By Treena Shapiro
Star-Bulletin

As longtime president of the Hawaii Newspaper Guild, the union for newsroom employees, Stan Souza participated in more than 20 contract negotiations -- and not one led to a strike.

"We had settlements all the way through," said Roy Kruse, former Guild administrator.

When Kruse became Guild administrator in 1969 and Souza became president, Honolulu's contracts ranked 120th nationally. When Souza left in 1992, Honolulu's ranked fifth, Kruse said. The Guild represents employees of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, the Honolulu Advertiser, the Hawaii Newspaper Agency, the Maui News, and the Hawaii Tribune Herald.

Stanley Joseph Souza died Monday in Honolulu. He was 66.

Souza's 25-year tenure was longer than that of any other president of a local guild in North America. "Stan was well liked by everybody, both our members and management," Kruse said.

In fact, Souza left his position in the Guild to join Hawaii Newspaper Agency management, after 23 years as a retail advertising salesman. Becoming a commercial press manager was a difficult decision for him, his son Stuart said. He had always worked "for the people" and worried that joining management would be a betrayal. But after he made the switch, people still came to him for help.

Son Stanley Jr. described his father's role in the family in similar terms. "How I'll remember my dad is that he was basically the backbone of our family, he was the one who would always have the last say with the difficult decisions."

Souza also is survived by wife Carol R.; other sons Steven J. and Scott J.; brothers Robert Gonsalves and Alfred; sister Gladys Cozloff; and 10 grandchildren.

Services will be held 11 a.m. next Saturday at Hawaiian Memorial Park. Call after 9 a.m. Inurnment will be at 3 p.m. Jan. 24 at the State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe.