[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 43 (Wednesday, April 17, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


TRIBUTE TO THE LATE RALPH E. BIGGER SR., ON HIS INDUCTION INTO THE U.P. 
                           LABOR HALL OF FAME

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                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 17, 2002

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay special tribute to the 
late Ralph E. Bigger Sr., a resident of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, who 
during his lifetime was a strong advocate on behalf of working men and 
women.
  Ralph was born in 1907 and grew up in the small town of Big Bay, on 
the shore of Lake Superior. Mr. Speaker, you and other members may 
remember Big Bay as one of the settings for the famous James Stewart 
movie, ``Anatomy of a Murder.'' Picturesque it may have been, but this 
remote area demanded hard work for a family to survive. Because his 
parents both suffered physical disabilities, young Ralph, the oldest of 
six children, quit school in the seventh grade to take a job in a local 
sawmill. In the mid-1920s he moved to nearby Marquette to work at 
another sawmill, and at the age of 24 he took a job with Cliff-Dow 
Chemical, where he would work for the next 37 years until his death in 
1968.
  Throughout his career, Ralph was a strong advocate of the labor 
movement. He served as a business representative of Local 179 of the 
International Chemical Workers Union. He fought hard for decent wages 
and he fought for medical insurance, which, when we consider his own 
personal history, was probably his most important issue.
  Ralph was also very active in politics, including campaign work for 
Congressman Bennett and the late Michigan State Rep. Dominic Jacobetti, 
himself a legend in Michigan politics and state government. Ralph also 
traveled to union conventions around the country and was elected 
president of the Marquette Central Labor Union in 1949. Ralph also 
served as Marquette Township Constable.
  During his employment with Cliff-Dow, Ralph founded his own logging 
business and later got into brick supply with his sons. His company's 
contributions can be seen in many of the prominent buildings in 
Marquette County, including most of the structures on the campus of 
Northern Michigan University.
  Mr. Speaker, Ralph Bigger will be honored on Saturday, April 20, with 
his induction into the U.P. Labor Hall of Fame at a banquet at the 
university. I ask you and my House colleagues to Join me in giving 
long-overdue recognition to the efforts of this spokesman for the 
working men and women of northern Michigan.

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