[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 3, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E332]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO RICADO ICAZA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                           HON. BRAD SHERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 3, 1999

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Sherman and I 
rise today to pay tribute to our very good friend, Ricardo Icaza, 
President of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770. This year 
Ricardo is receiving the International Humanitarian Award from the 
Israel Humanitarian Foundation. Having traveled outside the United 
States many times as a representative of the AFL-CIO, advocating on 
behalf of working people, it is no exaggeration to say that he is a 
perfect choice for this prestigious honor.
  Ricardo joined Local 770 in 1956, when Dwight Eisenhower was 
President of the United States and Elvis Presley had his first hit 
records. In the ensuring 43 years, the fortunes of organized labor have 
ebbed and flowed, along with those of the American economy as a whole. 
Through it all Ricardo's commitment to the Union, its policies and its 
goals, has never wavered. He is too busy fighting for the rights of 
workers to worry about whether the role of unions is diminishing, or to 
fret over the standing of the labor movement in public opinion polls.
  Ricardo has held many important positions with Local 770, including 
Research Assistant, Organizer, Business Representative and Secretary-
Treasurer. He has been President of Local 770 since 1981.
  Many of his duties have involved helping his brothers and sisters in 
foreign countries. In 1979, for example, he represented the Retail 
Clerks International Union as an advisory committee member in a 
delegation that went to Portugal, Spain and Brussels. He has also 
traveled to China, Geneva and Germany as a representative of the AFL-
CIO. In 1998, Ricardo represented labor in Mayor Riordan's delegation 
that visited Japan for the purpose of encouraging business with the 
City of Los Angeles.
  Ricardo's involvement with labor does not stop with Local 770. He is 
also President of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Treasurer 
of the Food and Drug Council and Vice President of the Labor Council 
for Latin American Advancement and trustee of the Southern California 
United Food and Commercial Workers Unions.
  We ask our colleagues to join us in saluting Ricardo Icaza, a man of 
integrity, compassion and justice. His unshakable commitment to 
improving the lives of working men and women inspires us all.

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