[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 9, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1172]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  A SALUTE TO OWEN MARRON, CENTRAL LABOR COUNCIL OF ALAMEDA COUNTY'S 
                       UNIONIST OF THE YEAR, 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 8, 1999

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor today to salute Owen A. Marron 
on his achievement of being named the Unionist of the Year, 1999, by 
the Central Labor Council of Alameda County and acknowledge his 
accomplishments as he completes his career as the Central Labor 
Council's Executive Secretary-Treasurer. Mr. Marron has been a longtime 
leader in the U.S. labor movement, particularly in California.
  Mr. Marron was born in Buffalo, New York and grew up in Southern 
California. Upon completion of high school, he worked in the Kaiser 
steel mills in Fontana, California. When he joined the United Steel 
Workers Union, he became the fourth generation in his family to join.
  Following his discharge from the U.S. Army in Korea, Mr. Marron 
returned to the steel plant, soon becoming a grievance committeeman for 
his local. He later served his local as the recording secretary and 
Chairman of the Incentive Committee.
  In 1964, Marron left the steel mills to pursue a career in the labor 
movement in California by working as a representative for SEIU Locals 
660, 616, and 700.
  In 1976, Marron became a delegate to the Central Labor Council of 
Alameda County and a labor representative of the State Council on 
Developmental Disabilities.
  In 1982, Marron was appointed to the Alameda County Central Labor 
Council's staff. During his career with the Labor Council, he served as 
Assistant to the Secretary and Executive Secretary-Treasurer. In 
addition, he was elected as Vice President of the California Labor 
Federation.
  Throughout his more than forty-year career in the labor movement, 
Marron has displayed strong and passionate leadership. His highlights 
include organizing over 150,000 trade unionists and their families in 
labor marches in 1982 and 1984; leading the historic Alameda County 
employees strike of 1976; mobilizing the entire Alameda County labor 
movement in a strike against Summit Hospital in 1992; and playing a 
pivotal role in bringing President Bill Clinton to the Alameda County 
Labor Day Picnic and South African President Nelson Mandela to visit 
Oakland.
  He has made a positive and profound impact on the lives of many 
individuals and organizations. His leadership skills and dedication 
will be sorely missed. I proudly join his many friends and colleagues 
in thanking and saluting him on receiving this prestigious award and 
extending my best wishes on his upcoming retirement.
  Marron will be honored as the Unionist of the Year in Oakland, 
California, on June 17, 1999.

                          ____________________