III 111th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 266 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 15, 2009 Mrs. Gillibrand (for herself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Stabenow, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Casey, Mr. Franken, Mr. Brown, Mr. Reed, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Levin, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Begich, Mr. Lieberman, Mrs. Boxer, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Akaka, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Kaufman, Mr. Webb, and Mr. Tester) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Recognizing the contributions of John Sweeney to the United States labor movement.

Whereas John Sweeney was born in the Bronx, New York, to hard-working Irish immigrant parents, who instilled in him a sense of faith, a commitment to justice, and a love for the United States and its infinite potential to provide opportunity to all people; Whereas John Sweeney was raised by his father, a bus driver, and his mother, a domestic worker, who both worked hard to allow him to attend St. Joseph's School, Cardinal Hayes High School, and Iona College, where he worked as a porter and a grave digger to help pay for his tuition; Whereas because of his upbringing and his experiences growing up, John Sweeney gave up a high-paying career to dedicate his life to helping the labor movement and improving the lives of millions of working families across the United States; Whereas John Sweeney's career in the labor movement has taken him from working on behalf of the factory workers of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) and the doormen and cleaning women of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) to being elected, in October 1995, to serve as the president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO); Whereas John Sweeney transformed labor organization and engaged the people of the United States on economic justice issues through methods such as the innovative Justice for Janitors campaign, while also nearly doubling the membership of the SEIU during his time as its president, making it the first union to reach 1,000,000 members; Whereas John Sweeney led efforts at SEIU that resulted in landmark equal wage rulings for female building employees and launched an organization drive that gave nearly 20,000 home care employees a voice in improving their own income and working conditions; Whereas John Sweeney has served as a transformational figure for millions of working individuals in the United States, and as president of the AFL–CIO, he has worked to revitalize and modernize the role of labor unions, train a new generation of organizers, promote diversity in union leadership, and make unions a driving force for social justice; Whereas under John Sweeney's leadership, the National Labor College has become a first-rate institute of higher learning, providing an unparalleled opportunity for advancement to countless workers in the United States; Whereas John Sweeney has fought on multiple fronts for legislation that advances justice, opportunity, and fairness for workers and their families, including legislation for a fair minimum wage, increased family leave, and improved worker health and safety rules; Whereas because of his mother's experiences as a domestic worker, John Sweeney has personally dedicated himself to working on a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights for the State of New York; Whereas John Sweeney has championed the effort to provide high-quality health care that is affordable and available to everyone in the United States; and Whereas John Sweeney, as an author, father, grandfather, organizer, and inveterate advocate for the voiceless, continues to inspire a new generation of labor leaders: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1)recognizes the contributions that John Sweeney has made to the labor movement and to the lives of working men and women across the United States; (2)congratulates John Sweeney on his decades of extraordinary and dedicated service; and (3)honors John Sweeney for his commitment to economic and social justice and his tireless advocacy on behalf of the working families of this Nation.