[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 125 (Thursday, September 23, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO OPHELIA COLLINS McFADDEN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JULIAN C. DIXON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 23, 1999

  Mr. DIXON. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with my distinguished 
colleagues, Representatives Howard Berman, Maxine Waters, Lucille 
Roybal-Allard, Xavier Becerra, and Juanita Millender-McDonald, in 
paying tribute today to Opehelia Collins McFadden, legendary leader of 
Local 434 of the Service Employees International Union in Los Angeles, 
California.
  One of labor's most extraordinary and influential leaders, Ophelia is 
retiring and will be feted at a celebration in her honor in Los Angeles 
on October 8, 1999. We are, therefore, especially pleased to honor her 
today and to publicly acknowledge her more than three decades of 
outstanding service to the labor movement, to the Los Angeles 
community, and in particular, to the thousands of working men and women 
throughout Los Angeles who have achieved greater economic parity 
because of her steadfast leadership. Indeed, it is impossible to talk 
about the labor movement or the advances achieved in Los Angeles during 
the past thirty-plus years, without invoking Opehelia's name.
  The story of Ophelia Collins McFadden begins, of course, with her 
birth in Kendleton, Texas. She attended schools in Conroe, Texas and 
received her undergraduate degree from Conroe Christian Teachers 
College. She moved to Los Angeles in 1959 and immediately joined the 
civil rights movement where she quickly gained a reputation as an 
indefatigable soldier in the fight to remove the insidious 
discriminatory barriers that were prevalent throughout this great 
nation.
  In 1968 Ophelia joined local 434 of SEIU as a staff representative. 
She was promoted to senior staff representative in 1974 and one year 
later was elevated to Assistant General Manager. On January 1, 1978, 
she made history in the labor movement with her appointment as General 
Manager of SEIU Local 434--at the time the third largest County workers 
union in California. She is the first African American woman Vice 
President of SEIU, AFL-CIO and the first African American woman to 
serve on the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor board. Ophelia can 
lay claim to numerous accomplishments during her long tenure with SEIU, 
not the least of which is the critical role she played in helping to 
establish the Los Angeles County Affirmative Action guidelines.
  As an activist, Ophelia is a formidable ally to have on your team. 
She has been involved in every major political race in Los Angeles 
County for the past thirty-one years. She has worked in voter 
registration drives throughout the county and was among the first SEIU 
members to work with former California State Legislators Richard 
Alatore and Art Torres in registering voters in the Latino community. 
She worked on the presidential campaigns of Walter Mondale and Ted 
Kennedy, and played a vital role in helping Los Angeles County 
Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke Capture her first victory for a seat 
on the Board of Supervisors.
  She is a founding member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, 
as well as the Coalition of Labor Union Women; Vice President of the 
Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and the Western States 
Conference, SEIU, AFL-CIO; member of the Advisory Board of the Los 
Angeles Chapter of the Black American Political Association of 
California (BAPAC); and Chancellor of the Elinor Glenn Joint Council of 
Unions, Scholarship Trust.
  In addition to her enormous responsibilities as the influential head 
of one of the most important labor locals in Los Angeles County, 
Ophelia serves as a member of the Conroe College Alumni Association, 
and is Vice President and a life member of the Los Angeles Branch of 
the NAACP. She is a member of Praises of Zion Church.
  Ophelia Collins McFadden has taken her place on the front lines of 
every major labor initiative in the Los Angeles community. In 1986 she 
led the kick-off Homecare campaign and in 1989 was appointed General 
Manager of the Homecare Workers Union of local 434B. Each of us paying 
tribute to her today can, I am sure, offer a personal anecodote of a 
time when she has prevailed upon us to help her in her tireless fight 
for the rights of county workers.
  Mr. Speaker, we are proud to honor Ophelia Collins McFadden as one of 
the greatest labor unionists of this century. We are privileged to know 
her and to thank her for the many contributions she has made to the Los 
Angeles community, and in particular to the thousands of health care 
and homecare workers in our respective congressional districts. We 
salute and commend her and ask that you join us in extending our 
heartfelt best wishes to her for a long and joyous retirement.

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