[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 21, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E28]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING JAMES OWEN RUSH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 21, 2004

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an Irish Catholic and New 
Deal Democrat, Jim Rush. Beloved husband of Joan, Jim passed on January 
2, 2004 after a hard-fought two year battle against cancer, surviving 
much longer than the doctors had ever predicted.
  James Rush was born December 9, 1938, at Providence Hospital in 
Oakland, to two veterans of the Oakland General Strike, Eugene Rush and 
Esther Kelly-Rush. He attended and graduated Sacred Heart and St. 
Elizabeth's High School in Oakland. Just like his father, he lived his 
entire life at 472 & 474 W. MacArthur Boulevard, in the houses his 
grandfather, Owen Code Rush built sometime near 1870.
  After high school, Jim was the night-manager at Doggie-Dinner's in 
Oakland. In 1962 he joined Teamsters Local 70 and was elected Chief 
Steward at Sears in 1969. He was arrested 3 times in the Coors Strike 
in Alameda in 1970. In 1972, he led the Sears Strike and was also 
elected Recording Secretary of Teamsters Local 70. Jim was injured on 
the job in 1980 and joined the law offices of John E. Hill, 
investigating ``Serious & Willful Fraud of Injured Workers by Employers 
& Insurance Companies.''
  In 1981, Jim became interested in Palmistry & Tarot Card Reading, 
eventually becoming a world-renowned spiritualist and author. Published 
and broadcast under the name Jay Owen Swift, he founded Oakland's 
Palmistry Academy of Ancient Wisdom and until 2001, hosted the 
``Mystic-Eye,'' a spiritually oriented radio show on KEST in San 
Francisco.
  In 1985, Jim was elected to the board of directors of the Instituto 
Laboral De La Raza, a non-profit community organization dedicated to 
assisting Latino immigrant working families in San Francisco, where he 
remained an Advisory Board Member until his death. In 1996, Jim was 
elected to the Executive Board of SEIU Local 616 after organizing the 
staff of his law firm into the union. He was appointed as a delegate to 
the Central Labor Council of Alameda County AFL-CIO in 1997 and elected 
by his fellow delegates to the Council's Union Label and Credentials 
Committee. On September 20, 2002, Jim was awarded the Instituto's 
``Santo Patricio Award.'' James P. Hoffa, General President of the 
International Brotherhood of Teamsters traveled from Washington D.C. to 
make the presentation.
  Finally, I want to honor him for being an exemplary role model, 
community leader, and friend. I take great pride in joining Jim's 
family, friends and colleagues to recognize and salute the 
accomplishments and contributions of James Owen ``Jimmy'' Rush.

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