[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 22, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM H. ``BILL'' WYNN

                                 ______


                          HON. DAVID E. BONIOR

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 22, 1994

  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to pay tribute to one of 
the giants of the labor movement who has recently been forced to step 
down as president of one of this Nation's great unions due to on-going 
health problems. William H. ``Bill'' Wynn, the long-time president of 
the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union leaves a 
legacy of unparalleled leadership. Serving as the UFCW's first--and 
until his retirement earlier this year--only president, he built this 
now 1.4 million member union into one of the Nation's largest, most 
innovative, and effective labor organizations.
  Wynn, who was elected international president of the Retail Clerks 
International Union in 1977, was the principal architect of two key 
mergers--one that gave birth to the UFCW, and one that consolidated the 
UFCW's strength in the retail food and food processing industries.
  Wynn earned a place in labor history for crafting the landmark merger 
between the Retail Clerks and the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher 
Workmen in 1979 that formed the United Food and Commercial Workers. He 
was unanimously elected as president of the new union, a post he held 
from the UFCW's founding until February 3, 1994.
  The Retail Clerks-Amalgamated Meat Cutters merger took place on the 
eve of the Reagan era, when a wave of anti-worker economic and 
political forces were unleashed on this Nation. These swept through 
UFCW-represented industries like a hurricane, transforming many once 
stable, profitable companies to debt-strapped enterprises struggling 
for their economic lives. The newly formed UFCW was able to fight back 
forcefully, with strength that neither of the former unions could have 
generated alone.
  Wynn not only engineered the merger between the two unions at a 
critical time, but he also determined to make it work--and it did. 
Through tenacity, creativity, and a commitment to problem-solving, the 
UFCW did more than just survive the 1980's; it grew, thanks to Wynn's 
determination to aggressively meet the challenges posed by increasing 
non-union competition--and an unswerving commitment to organizing.
  Perhaps his second greatest accomplishment was the 1993 merger 
between the UFCW and the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union. 
At the time he described it as a perfect fit. Indeed it is. After all, 
the UFCW and the RWDSU share virtually identical jurisdictions. Also, 
and most importantly, this newly formed partnership makes the UFCW the 
largest private sector union in North America.
  But Bill Wynn was more than a labor leader. He dedicated himself to 
promoting civil rights and affirmative action. His commitment is 
reflected among the UFCW's leadership ranks and professional staff, as 
well as in the union's special emphasis on organizing those who need a 
union most: low-wage and minority workers.
  Bill Wynn was a consummate consensus-builder who commanded great 
respect. He touched the lives of millions of working families and 
through his leadership those lives have been improved.
  For those of us who have long worked with the UFCW, and who came to 
know and respect Bill Wynn, we offer a heartfelt salute and our eternal 
respect. Bill Wynn is one man whose leadership will be sorely missed.

                          ____________________