[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 153 (Thursday, September 28, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1872]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO FRANK REDMILES

                                 ______


                         HON. ROBERT A. BORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 28, 1995

  Mr. BORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Frank 
Redmiles, a man who has dedicated 45 years of his life to bettering his 
family, his community, and the lives of tens of thousands of working 
men and women throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.
  Frank Redmiles is retiring from four decades of toil and service in 
behalf of the men and women of the United Auto Workers. And while he 
may be retiring from active service, his legacy is certain to live on 
and inspire future generations of labor advocates.
  From the very beginning of his working life, in 1950 at the former 
ITE Circuit Breaker Co. in Northeast Philadelphia, Frank Redmiles was a 
union man. He began in the then-independent union, the ESU, which later 
affiliated with the United Auto Workers.
  He started out, like so many advocates, as a shop steward. He served 
12 years on the United Auto Workers' negotiating committee. He became 
chairman, of that committee.
  Frank Redmiles was in the forefront of the affiliation of the ESU 
with the United Auto Workers in 1969. He served as a trustee and as 
shop chair, and then was elected president of UAW Local 1612--a post he 
held for 7 years.
  In 1979, Mr. Redmiles was appointed as an international 
representative of the UAW for southeastern Pennsylvania, and in 1985, 
he reached the pinnacle of his union advocacy when he was appointed 
Pennsylvania area director of region nine of the UAW--a post from which 
he represented the interests of more than 75,000 working men and women.
  The 1980's, as we all know, were difficult economic times for working 
men and women in the United States. The constant pressures from foreign 
companies and foreign competition fell particularly hard on the 
automobile industry, and the workers of the UAW felt those pressures 
and hard times.
  But through every one of those difficult days, months and years, 
Frank Redmiles never stopped fighting. He never stopped fighting for 
fair and equitable contracts for his rank and file. He never stopped 
fighting for a living wage. And he never stopped fighting to save the 
jobs of American workers.
  And, while Mr. Redmiles was serving as such a tireless advocate for 
UAW workers, he was also finding time to serve his larger community as 
well. He served on the Philadelphia Mayor's Scholarship Advisory 
Committee, and he served on the city's zoning board as well, eventually 
as chairman. In addition, he served on the board of the Ben Franklin 
Partnership, and in 1992 he was appointed to serve on the transition 
team of Mayor Edward G. Rendell.
  Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to bring to the House's 
attention the life story and public service of Frank Redmiles, a man 
whose 45 years of advocacy to the cause of the working men and women of 
the United Auto Workers do much justice to the historic legacy of a 
proud American labor organization.

                          ____________________