[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 55 (Thursday, April 25, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E623]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E623]]



            ELISEO VASQUEZ MEDINA: AN ORGANIZER'S ORGANIZER

                                 ______


                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 24, 1996

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Eliseo Medina, 
executive director of Local 2028 of the Service Employees International 
Union and the newly-elected executive vice president of the Service 
employees International Union, who will be honored with a Leadership 
Award by the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council on April 27, 
1996.
  Eliseo Vasquez Medina entered the labor movement through the table 
grape vineyards of Delano, in California's San Joaquin Valley, where he 
joined the grape strike led by Cesar Chavez and the United Farm 
Workers, AFL-CIO in 1965. Quickly recognized as a natural leader and 
organizer, he was sent by Cesar Chavez to Chicago with a phone number 
and a bag of buttons to head up what became a successful boycott 
organization in the Midwest. From there he was sent wherever the need 
existed for his energy, intelligence, and organizational skills.
  Within a few years, Eliseo Medina was elected to the executive board 
of the United Farm Workers, where he became second vice-president to 
Cesar Chavez. When the agricultural Labor Relations Act was passed in 
California, he returned to lead numerous successful election drives and 
negotiate numerous historic contracts.
  Beginning in 1978, Eliseo Medina began the second part of his career 
as an organizer in diverse industries. He was tapped by the American 
Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees [AFSCME] to 
organize employees of the University of California. Thereafter, he 
moved on to organize the Teas State Employees Union.
  Five years later, the Service Employees International Union brought 
him to San Diego, where he has led and honed its Local 2028, increasing 
its membership threefold and providing service and leadership to 
thousands of my constituents in the 50th District of California.
  Just this week, Eliseo Medina returned to Chicago, where the Service 
Employees International Union elected him to one of its highest levels 
of leadership, executive vice-president.
  Mr. Speaker, I join labor leaders in San Diego and across the country 
in congratulating Eliseo Medina for receiving the San Diego-Imperial 
Counties Labor Council's Leadership Award. I know he will always be 
striving to improve the quality of life for the working people of San 
Diego.

                          ____________________