[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 54 (Tuesday, May 5, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S4371]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        RECOGNITION OF BOB LENT

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
good friend of mine and of the working men and women of Michigan, Bob 
Lent. Bob is retiring at the end of June, 1998, from his position as 
Director of UAW Region 1.
  Bob Lent has been a UAW member for nearly 50 years, when he began 
working in 1949 at the Dodge Main plant in Hamtramck, Michigan. After 
serving in the U.S. Army from 1951 to 1953, Bob went to work as a 
millwright apprentice and skilled tradesman at the Chrysler 9 Mile Road 
Press Plant. It was here, as a member of UAW Local 869, that he began 
his rise into the leadership of the UAW. He served in a number of 
leadership positions in Local 869, including alternative chief steward, 
trustee chairman, vice president and president. From here he was 
appointed to the Region 1B staff, where he rose to the position of 
assistant director in 1982. In 1983, Bob was elected Regional Director 
at the UAW's 27th Constitutional Convention in Dallas, Texas.
  Bob is something of a legend in labor circles for his commitment to 
the working men and women of Region 1. But he is almost equally well-
known for his remarkable ability to remember the most minute details of 
events that happened years before. Of course, in his line of work, a 
memory like that can be an incredible asset to bring to the bargaining 
table. But it can also be the source of amusement, and occasionally 
embarrassment, when Bob relates who said what to whom at a dinner which 
took place ten or fifteen years ago.
  Knowing Bob as I do, I have no doubt that retirement will not slow 
him down, and that he will continue to serve his community in a number 
of ways. I am sure that his wife, Earline, will keep him at least as 
busy as his commitments to the United Way of Pontiac-Oakland County, 
the Detroit-area United Foundation, the NAACP and the Wayne State 
University Labor Advisory Committee. And I also know that the men and 
women of the UAW can count on Bob to continue to stand with them in 
their ongoing efforts on behalf of the working people of our nation.
  Mr. President, I know my colleagues join me in extending 
congratulations and best wishes to Bob Lent, Director of UAW Region 1, 
on the occasion of his retirement. 

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