[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 72 (Thursday, May 20, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6045-S6047]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING THE LIFE OF MILDRED McWILLIAMS JEFFREY

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 367, submitted 
earlier today by Senators Stabenow and Levin.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will state the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 367) honoring the life of Mildred 
     McWilliams ``Millie'' Jeffrey (1910-2004) and her 
     contributions to her community and to the United States.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, today I rise to honor the life of a very 
dear friend who passed away on March 24 of this year. Millie Jeffrey is 
an icon in the State of Michigan and in our country for civil rights, 
women's rights, and worker's rights. Her life has epitomized the 
principles by which we all strive to live our lives--justice, equality, 
and compassion.
  Although small in stature, Millie has been a giant among all of us 
who have known her. Words cannot express the depth of affection and 
respect in which Millie is held, nor can words quantify the lives that 
she has touched.
  Mildred McWilliams Jeffrey, social justice activist, retired UAW 
Director of the Consumer Affairs Department and a Governor Emerita of 
Wayne State University, died peacefully surrounded by her family early 
this morning in the Metro Detroit area. She was 93. In 2000, President 
William Clinton awarded here the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian 
award bestowed by the United States government.
  In seeking world peace by ensuring equality for all, Millie spent a 
lifetime working on labor, civil rights, education, health care, youth 
employment, and recreation issues. She brought inspiration and humor to 
the many people she touched--and did so with optimism and undaunted 
spirit.
  Millie's list of accomplishments and awards is long but what she is 
most remembered for is her zest for organizing. She mentored legions of 
women and men in the labor, civil rights, women's rights, and peace 
movements. As President Clinton noted: ``Her impact will be felt for 
generations, and her example never forgotten.''
  Born in Alton, IA, on December 29, 1910, Millie was the oldest of 
seven children. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1932 
with a bachelor's degree in psychology and received a master's degree 
in social economy and social research in 1934 from Bryn Mawr College. 
In graduate school, she realized that to improve the lives of working 
women and men she would have to change the system. In the 1930s, that 
meant joining the labor movement.
  Millie became an organizer for the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of 
America in Philadelphia and then Educational Director of the 
Pennsylvania Joint Board of Shirt Workers. In 1936, she married fellow 
Amalgamated organizer Homer Newman Jeffrey, and they traveled 
throughout the South and East organizing textile workers. During World 
War II, the Jeffreys worked in Washington, DC, as consultants to the 
War Labor Board, where they became close friends with Walter, Victor, 
and Roy Reuther.
  Mildred and Newman Jeffrey moved to Detroit in 1944 when victor 
Reuther offered Millie a job as director of the newly formed UAW 
Women's Bureau. Millie's commitment to equal rights fueled here career 
at the UAW. She organized the first UAW women's conference in response 
to the massive postwar layoffs of women production workers replaced by 
returning veterans. From 1949 until 1954, Millie ran the union's radio 
station. She moved on to direct the Community Relations Departments. 
She was director of the Consumer Affairs Department from 1968 until her 
retirement in 1976.
  Millie joined the NAACP in the 1940s and marched in the South with 
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s. Former executive secretary of 
the Detroit Branch of the NAACP, Arthur Johnson, said that ``in the 
civil rights movement, she knew how to fight without being 
disagreeable.''
  Mildred Jeffrey also was very active in the Democratic Party, 
preferring to work behind the scenes organizing, canvassing, 
consulting, and fundraising. She was the consummate strategist. Millie 
provided savvy advice to Democratic officeholders and presidents from 
JFK to Bill Clinton. Senator Edward Kennedy observed, ``whether it was 
a worker in a plant, or whether it was a Congressman or Senator or 
President, Millie inspired people.''
  As a founding member and chair of the National Women's Political 
Caucus, Millie supported female candidates for public office. Twenty 
years ago she led the effort to nominate Geraldine Ferraro as Walter 
Mondale's running mate. Most recently, Millie delighted in being 
represented by Michigan women she supported, Governor Jennifer 
Granholm, and myself. Millie is the ``political godmother'' for many of 
us, and we are extremely grateful for her love and support. Millie was 
one of the most important mentors in my life and I will always be very, 
very grateful to her.

[[Page S6046]]

  Millie ran for public office in 1974 and was elected by the people of 
the State of Michigan to the Wayne State University Board of Governors, 
an office she held for 16 years--1974-1990. She was so proud of her 
role in supporting this wonderful university. She served three terms as 
board chair. Millie loved Wayne State University and was a long-time 
resident on campus. She never tired of showing visitors around her 
``neighborhood''--the Adamany Undergraduate Library, the Hilberry 
Theatre, and the Walter P. Reuther Library. Millie thrived in the 
academic environment enriched by Wayne State University students.
  Her friendships extended worldwide across all ages and nationalities. 
Whether discussing math with teenagers in Wayne State's Math Corps, or 
strategizing at the UN Conference on Women about the plight of 
sweatshop workers, Millie's capacity for connecting with people was 
unmatched.

  Millie's capacity for connecting with people was unmatched. As one 
who traveled with her to the Fourth World Conference on Women in 
Beijing, it was amazing to see people from all over the world, hearing 
we were from Michigan, asking if we knew Millie Jeffrey and if we could 
tell them where she was; or that their grandmother, their aunt, 
suggested they meet Millie Jeffrey.
  I often said the way to world peace was to let Millie loose; sooner 
or later, we would all know Millie Jeffrey and come to understand each 
other.
  Millie was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame and was an 
original board member of the Michigan Women's Foundation. She served in 
various leadership roles in a wide variety of national and State 
organizations such as the Michigan Women's Political Caucus, the 
Coalition for Labor Union Women, Americans for Democratic Action, 
National Abortion Rights Action League, Voters for Choice, EMILY's 
List, and the American Civil Liberties Union. She served on the peer 
review board of Blue Cross and was an active member of the First 
Unitarian Universalist Church in Detroit.
  She was also an adoring mother of a son and a daughter and adoring 
grandmother who developed and nourished creativity and curiosity in her 
two grandchildren who she loved dearly, Erica Jeffrey and Thomas 
Jeffrey. She encouraged Erica's love of ballet. She urged Thomas to 
travel to learn about the world and was so proud of his AmeriCorps 
Service.
  All of these lists of awards, duties, responsibilities, and 
committees do not say what Millie is all about: Millie Jeffrey was a 
one-of-a-kind woman of great passion, of great commitment, of great 
interest in knowing about each one of us and what we were doing and 
what we cared and how she could help.
  Yesterday, 250 people came to Washington, DC, from all over the 
country to remember Millie and to share how Millie had touched their 
lives. Millie's life was celebrated and honored by her family and 
friends through photos, speech and song. Many of her friends gave 
heartwarming accounts on how she helped them as well as our country. As 
the memorial service concluded, one thing became very clear. Millie is 
no longer with us, but she will be with us forever because her spirit 
will continue in all of us.
  I thank my colleagues for the support of this resolution.
  I yield the floor.
   Mr. LEVIN. Today, Mr. President, I join Senator Stabenow in 
introducing a resolution to celebrate and to honor the life of an 
extraordinary American woman, Mildred Jeffrey. Millie Jeffrey was a 
shining star in the firmament of our State and Nation. Her legendary 
courage and her incredible tenacity were an inspiration to all who came 
within her orbit.
   Throughout her life, Millie fought tenaciously to advance civil 
rights and break down the racial barriers that divide us. She fought 
for workers' rights, making sure that the people who make up the 
backbone of our business and industry are given a voice and afforded 
fair treatment. She was a pioneer for women's rights, opening doors and 
providing opportunities for women that were merely a dream for women 
before her. We can all say that our world is more just and more humane 
because of Millie.
   We couldn't begin to count all of the people she assisted, all of 
the careers she helped launch, and all of the walls she broke down. She 
was a major force in the election of Michigan's first female Senator 
and first female governor; how wonderful it is that she lived to see 
both Senator Debbie Stabenow and Governor Jennifer Granholm take 
office.
   It is a mystery how her larger-than-life passion, energy, 
enthusiasm, and kindness fit into such a tiny frame. Every person who 
ever met with her or talked with her or felt her spirit was left with a 
deep sense of awe and respect for her extraordinarily good nature and 
her commitment to good deeds. It is a badge of honor to be able to say 
``I knew Millie Jeffrey.''
   Millie famously said that she would retire only when she died, and 
she certainly lived up to that promise, working and fighting until the 
very end. We all wish her retirement could have been later, but her 
legacy and her inspiration will be a major presence in Michigan and the 
Nation forever.
   I know all of my colleagues will join me in celebrating her life and 
honoring her memory.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the measure be 
printed in the Record, without intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 367) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 367

       Whereas Mildred McWilliams ``Millie'' Jeffrey, a social 
     justice activist, a retired UAW Director of the Consumer 
     Affairs Department, and a Governor Emerita of Wayne State 
     University, died peacefully surrounded by her family on March 
     24, 2004, in the Metro Detroit, Michigan area at the age of 
     93;
        Whereas in 2000, President Clinton awarded Millie the 
     Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award bestowed by the 
     United States Government;
       Whereas in seeking world peace by ensuring equality for 
     all, Millie spent a lifetime working on labor, civil rights, 
     education, health care, youth employment, and recreation 
     issues;
       Whereas Millie brought inspiration and humor to the many 
     people she touched and did so with optimism and undaunted 
     spirit;
       Whereas Millie, a woman of influence and of great moral 
     character, was always a voice of conscience and reason;
       Whereas Millie provided a voice for those that could not be 
     heard and hope for those that no longer believed, and because 
     of this her legacy will continue to live on for generations 
     to come;
        Whereas Millie's list of accomplishments and awards is 
     long but what she is most remembered for is her zest for 
     organizing, including mentoring legions of women and men in 
     the labor, civil rights, women's rights, and peace movements;
        Whereas President Clinton stated that ``her impact will be 
     felt for generations, and her example never forgotten'';
        Whereas Millie was born in Alton, Iowa on December 29, 
     1910, and was the oldest of 7 children;
       Whereas in 1932 Millie graduated from the University of 
     Minnesota with a bachelor's degree in psychology and in 1934 
     Millie received a master's degree in social economy and 
     social research from Bryn Mawr College;
        Whereas Millie became an organizer for the Amalgamated 
     Clothing Workers of America in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
     and later became Educational Director of the Pennsylvania 
     Joint Board of Shirt Workers;
       Whereas in 1936, Millie married fellow Amalgamated Clothing 
     Workers of America organizer Homer Newman Jeffrey, and they 
     traveled throughout the South and East organizing textile 
     workers;
        Whereas during World War II, the Jeffreys worked in 
     Washington, D.C., as consultants to the War Labor Board, 
     where they became close friends with Walter, Victor, and Roy 
     Reuther;
        Whereas the Jeffreys moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1944 
     when Victor Reuther offered Millie a job as director of the 
     newly formed UAW Women's Bureau;
        Whereas Millie's commitment to equal rights fueled her 
     career at the UAW;
        Whereas Millie organized the first UAW women's conference 
     in response to the massive postwar layoffs of women 
     production workers, who were replaced by returning veterans;
        Whereas from 1949 until 1954, Millie ran the UAW's radio 
     station;
        Whereas Millie moved on to direct the Community Relations 
     Department of the UAW;
        Whereas Millie served as Director of the Consumer Affairs 
     Department of the UAW from 1968 until her retirement in 1976;
        Whereas Millie joined the NAACP in the 1940s and marched 
     in the South with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960s;

[[Page S6047]]

        Whereas Former Executive Secretary of the Detroit Branch 
     of the NAACP, Arthur Johnson, said that ``in the civil rights 
     movement, she knew how to fight without being disagreeable'';
        Whereas Millie ran for public office in 1974 and was 
     elected by the people of Michigan to the Wayne State 
     University Board of Governors, an office she held for 16 
     years (1974-1990);
        Whereas Millie served 3 terms as chair of the Wayne State 
     University Board of Governors;
        Whereas Millie loved Wayne State University and was a 
     long-time resident on campus;
        Whereas Millie never tired of showing visitors around her 
     ``neighborhood''--the Adamany Undergraduate Library, the 
     Hilberry Theatre, and the Walter P. Reuther Library of Wayne 
     State University;
        Whereas Millie thrived in the academic environment 
     enriched by Wayne State University students;
        Whereas whether discussing mathematics with teenagers in 
     Wayne State University's Math Corps or strategizing at the 
     United Nations Conferences on Women about the plight of 
     sweatshop workers, Millie's capacity for connecting with 
     people was unmatched;
        Whereas Millie was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall 
     of Fame and was an original member of the board of the 
     Michigan Women's Foundation;
        Whereas Millie served in various leadership roles in a 
     wide variety of national and State organizations;
       Whereas Millie served on the peer review board of Blue 
     Cross;
        Whereas Millie also was an active member of the First 
     Unitarian Universalist Church in Detroit; and
       Whereas the United States mourns the death of Mildred 
     McWilliams ``Millie'' Jeffrey: Now, therefore be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) honors the life of Mildred McWilliams ``Millie'' 
     Jeffrey and her contributions to her community and to the 
     United States; and
       (2) directs the Secretary of the Senate to transmit an 
     enrolled copy of this resolution to the family of Millie 
     Jeffrey.

                          ____________________