milestones

John Fontanella: 1948-2008
John Fontanella, vice president of research at the consulting firm AMR Research and an influential supply chain theorist, died in Boston Nov. 30. He was 60.

Fontanella, who initially joined Bostonbased AMR in 1998 and after a brief hiatus returned in 2006 as vice president of research, studied radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, wholesale distribution, global trade, supply chain visibility, supply chain security, and supply chain event management. He was frequently quoted in this and other industry publications.

From 2004 to 2006, Fontanella served as a senior vice president of research services at Aberdeen Group and as vice president of supply chain services at Yankee Group. Prior to joining AMR, he held executive positions in logistics and supply chain management for Microsoft Corp. and Digital Equipment Corp.

Ron Carey: 1936-2008
Ron Carey, who as president of the Teamsters union led arguably the most memorable insurrection in the union's long and controversial history, died of lung cancer Dec. 11 in New York City. He was 72.

In 1997, Carey called a nationwide strike against UPS over the company's use of part-time workers. That strike, the first such job action in UPS's history, lasted 15 days and made headlines around the world. In the end, UPS's 185,000 Teamster workers won pay increases, better pension benefits, and the promise of 10,000 new full-time positions. The strike shut down the UPS network and would prompt many shippers who had previously used only UPS to diversify their carrier base. UPS never regained some of the business lost to the strike.

Weeks after the strike ended, Carey was removed from office and charged with perjury after telling investigators he was unaware of a scheme concocted by advisers to divert $885,000 from the union's treasury to groups that had donated to his re-election campaign. Several aides were convicted in the scheme, and one later testified against him.

A federal oversight panel barred Carey from running again for the office and ordered him not to participate in union matters for the rest of his life. A federal jury acquitted Carey on all counts in 2001, but the panel refused to remove the ban. Following his acquittal, Carey retired.