[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 14 (Tuesday, February 24, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E211-E212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE PASSING OF PATRICK J. CAMPBELL

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 24, 1998

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is with deep regret that I inform our 
colleagues of the passing of one of the outstanding labor leaders in 
our nation, an individual whose footsteps will be difficult to fill.
  Patrick J. Campbell is one of the few last members of a generation 
that truly knew the meaning of the word hardship. He is one of the last 
who learned at an early age that hard work is the path not just to 
success, but to survival.
  Pat was born in New York City on July 22, 1918, and was orphaned six 
years later. This was an era when child welfare and social services 
were limited, so Pat went to work at a tender, young age. And work he 
did: shining shoes, hawking newspapers, and working in a candy-making 
factory.
  At the age of 20, Pat moved to Rockland County, New York, in what is 
now my Congressional District. He became an employee at the Rockland 
State Hospital, but three years later his career was nipped in the bud 
with the dropping of enemy bombs on Pearl Harbor. Pat, at the age of 
23, enlisted in the Army Air Force, and was one of the many of us who 
saw action in the South Pacific.
  Soon after he returned to Rockland County, after a distinguished 
career of heroism in the service throughout World War Two, Pat signed 
up as an apprentice in Local Union #964, United Brotherhood of 
Carpenters and Joiners. Someone with Pat's talents, drive, and 
determination to work was not going to be kept down for long. He 
quickly moved up the ladder: to journeyman, to carpenter, foreman, 
general construction foreman, superintendent, and, finally, he was 
elected President of Local Union #964 in 1954.

[[Page E212]]

  Just a year later, his accomplishments as Local President were so 
impressive that he was appointed by U.S. General President M.A. 
Hutcheson to the International organizing staff. In this position, Pat 
met carpenters from throughout the free world and gained a greater 
insight into the problems facing the labor movement at the halfway mark 
of the 20th century.
  In 1957, Pat was appointed a General Representative and assigned to 
the Niagara Power Project, one of the largest construction undertakings 
in U.S. history. Pat served as Chairman of the Labor-Management 
Committee of the entire operation.
  Pat continued to advance through the ranks of the United Brotherhood 
of Carpenters and Joiners. In 1966, he was appointed Assistant to the 
General President; in 1969, he succeeded to the position of First 
District Board Member; and in 1974 he was promoted to the high office 
of Second General Vice President of the United Brotherhood of 
Carpenters and Joiners of America. He advanced to First General Vice 
President in 1980.
  After 37 years of devotion to the well being of his fellow carpenters 
and to the labor movement, Patrick J. Campbell became General President 
of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America when his 
predecessor retired, on November 1, 1982.
   Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that Pat Campbell was just as 
willing and eager to help and advise after his rise to the National 
Presidency as he was prior to it. He never forgot his roots in Rockland 
County, and never hesitated to step forward any time he thought he 
could be of assistance to my efforts. I shall never forget the superb 
advice and assistance with which Pat was so generous. He was truly of 
great help to me in the burdens of public service.
  Pat received many honors and awards throughout the years, and 
continued to serve as Vice President of the New York State AFL-CIO, as 
Director for the Board of the Urban Development Corporation for the 
State of New York as a Board Member of the Federal Committee on 
Apprenticeship, on the Executive Board of the maritime Trades 
Department, and in many other positions.
  Mr. Speaker, I invite our colleagues to join in mourning the passing 
of a true gentleman who personified the best that the labor union 
movement has to offer, and to join me in expressing our condolences to 
his widow, Catherine Keane; his sons, Patrick and Kevin; his daughter, 
Cynthia; and his six grandchildren. Although no mere words spoken today 
can possible help ease their grief, they may take some comfort in 
knowing that many of us share their sense of loss on the passing of 
this remarkable, big-hearted gentleman, Patrick J. Campbell.

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