[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 127 (Tuesday, September 16, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1793]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING THE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE IRONWORKERS LOCAL #55

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                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 16, 2003

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, one hundred years ago the Ironworkers Local 
#55 joined together in union in Toledo, Ohio. lam pleased to recognize 
this milestone anniversary and pay tribute to the union's courageous 
founders and all of the men and women who followed them over the course 
of a century.
  In 1903 the idea of unionization was viewed as radical, and often 
dangerous for those who pursued it. Yet, men working to build our 
cities, the bridges, skyscrapers, schools and factories which were 
changing the American landscape worked under dangerous conditions 
themselves. They found themselves not only at the mercy of difficult 
working conditions, but subject to forces who did not respect them and 
the jobs they did. They worked long hours for low pay, no compensation 
for injury or sickness, and little if any thought was given to their 
general welfare. The Ironworkers Union itself was only seven years old 
when Toledo's Local #55 was chartered on February 16, 1903, 104 members 
strong. Toledo's ironworkers have been an integral part of the growth 
and development of the Ironworkers Union since the beginning.
  The first recorded ironworker union jobs came that same year, with 
the Illinois Steel Company's construction of a cantilever bridge and 
two turntables for the Toledo Furnace Company. Just two years after its 
founding, Ironworkers Local #55 struck one of Toledo's largest and 
prominent contractors, A. Bentley and Sons. Though the strike was 
ultimately unsuccessful, the action showed clearly that the infant 
union was willing to battle even the largest, most anti-union 
companies. At the close of the century's first decade, Ironworkers 
Local #55 was firmly established and under the capable and visionary 
leadership of William R. ``Big Bill'' Walters, the union's first 
business agent, who went on to serve the union in various offices until 
1935. Since him, many noble leaders have guided the union through both 
hard times and prosperity.
  The union gave its members good jobs with good wages, health care and 
pension benefits, injury compensation, and sickness and death benefits. 
Just as importantly, it offered its members and their families the 
spirit of workers united in the common goal of bettering the lives of 
everyone. Out of this spirit came a sense of camaraderie, of loyalty, 
of protection and pride in what they were all trying to build together. 
I have been privileged to be welcomed into this spirit, and it is 
uniquely union.
  A look around our region reveals the accomplishments of Ironworkers 
Local #55 union members. Their skill and hard work gave us signature 
bridges, downtown skyline, the schools which educate our children, 
monuments paying tribute to our efforts as community and Nation. We owe 
Toledo's City Hall, Ohio Building, Spitzer Building, Swayne Field, 
Toledo Museum of Art additions, Bell Building, Toledo Public Library, 
Acme Power Plant, Standard Oil, Pure Oil, Sun Oil and Gulf Oil 
refineries, Federal Building, Owens-Illinois Fiberglass Tower, Medical 
College of Ohio, Davis-Besse Power Plant, Islamic Center of Greater 
Toledo, Summit Center and the Valentine Theatre to Local 55 members, 
just to name a few of our region's significant buildings whose 
frameworks were formed by ironworkers. Now, as its second century 
dawns, Ironworkers Local #55 members are undertaking the construction 
of our region's largest single project to date: the new 8,800 foot 
long, 120 foot high Maumee River Crossing.
  I join with members and friends of Ironworkers local #55 past and 
present in celebrating one hundred years of history. It is these 
``cowboys of the sky'', along with fellow members of the building 
trades, who built America. We stand along side them and look to the 
future as together we continue to build our Nation.

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