To my Local 802 family:

After 20 years of service to Local 802, the time has come for me to say “Adios.” I am retiring.

After all this time, some of us know each other, some of us have become friends and some of us have become like family.

I just want to say thank you.

Thank you for making my time here time well spent.

I’ve had many jobs in my life, but working with you and for you has never felt like a job. It has been a pleasure.

As I leave, please know that to me you are all fantastic!

–PEDRO L. RODRIGUEZ

Several years ago, when I was a rank-and-file musician out in the field, I will never forget an unannounced recording of a rehearsal at Carnegie Hall. The musicians were all uncertain of what to do, and while we were in the middle of deciding which one of us might put his or her job on the line and take a stand, suddenly I heard “Oh, thank goodness Pedro’s here!” I didn’t know him at the time, but quickly came to learn that he was there to take care of us and make things right. He did just that. The recording was properly filed and the gig proceeded with a collective sigh of relief. In the years to come, I have had the privilege of witnessing his fine work on a daily basis. He will be sorely missed and all of us at 802 send him warm thanks and wish him well in all his future endeavors.

–802 President David Lennon