[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 118 (Monday, September 13, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1847-E1848]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CONGRATULATING PHILIP J. McLEWIN ON HIS RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARGE ROUKEMA

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 13, 1999

  Mrs. ROUKEMA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Philip J. McLewin 
on the occasion of his retirement as president of the Bergen County 
Central Trades and Labor Council of the AFL-CIO. Mr. McLewin has been a 
dedicated and respected labor leader in northern New Jersey, fighting 
for the rights of working men and women as they seek to achieve the 
American dream. Mr. McLewin exhibited progressive leadership, building 
coalitions and consensus among labor groups and working with business 
management to achieve the goals of employers and employees alike. His 
success was symbolic of a time when the industrial revolution had 
blossomed into a spirit of cooperation between labor and management 
that helped give the United States the leading economy of the world.
  Mr. McLewin actively participated in the Council's activities for 25 
years. He began in

[[Page E1848]]

1974 as a labor educator, teaching worker education courses at Ramapo 
College, where he is still employed as a professor of economics. He was 
elected president of the council in 1983 and served 16 years before his 
retirement this year.
  By bringing together affiliated local unions, Mr. McLewin was able to 
form a unified and highly effective voice for labor in Bergen County. 
Under his leadership, the council played a key role in endorsing and 
electing political candidates, lobbying for worker-friendly legislation 
and fighting against opponents of labor. He rekindled the grass roots 
activism of trade unionists in Bergen County in support of workers on 
strike, those whose jobs were threatened by plant closings or 
privatization, and supporting efforts to organize new unions or expand 
union membership. Under his tenure, the number of local unions 
affiliated with the Council more than doubled and participation of 
local unions in the Council's activities increased tenfold.
  One of Mr. McLewin's proudest accomplishments was the establishment 
of the United Labor Agency of Bergen County, which assists union 
members with individual and family social service needs.
  AFL-CIO President John Sweeney recognized Mr. McLewin's leadership 
when he appointed him to the 24-member National Central Labor Council 
Advisory Committee in 1995 to help develop the regeneration of labor 
councils across the country.
  In addition to heading the Bergen County Central Trades and Labor 
Council, Mr. McLewin was vice president of the New Jersey Industrial 
Council and a former president of American Federation of Teachers Local 
2274. He was a member of the AFT bargaining team and state council.
  Mr. McLewin has been an active leader in the local community, serving 
on the board of directors for New Jersey Citizen Action, on the 
leadership team of the Bergen County Workforce Investment Board and 
working extensively with the United Way.
  Born in Portland, Maine, he moved to San Diego at the age of six. He 
is a graduate of San Diego State University and holds a master's degree 
in economics from the University of California at Riverside and his 
doctorate in economics from Cornell University. He moved to Bergen 
County in 1974. He and his wife, Lynne, have been married 37 years and 
have two sons.
  I ask my colleagues in the House of Representatives to join me in 
congratulating Mr. McLewin on his successful career and in wishing him 
the best in his retirement.

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