[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 62 (Thursday, May 12, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E954]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN MEMORY AND HONOR OF MIGUEL CONTRERAS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LORETTA SANCHEZ

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 12, 2005

  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mourn 
the death and celebrate the life of Miguel Contreras, who died last 
Friday at the age of 52.
  As the leader of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, 
Miguel was a powerful figure in the labor movement.
  Miguel spearheaded the effort to get a new contract for janitors in 
2000. In the same year, he negotiated a key deal for Metropolitan 
Transit workers.
  He was deeply involved in politics at many levels. There are few 
politicians in Los Angeles who didn't have to work with him.
  And yet, Miguel was a workers' leader, with his focus keenly on the 
workers he represented and their best interest.
  Maybe that's because Miguel had been there himself. He was the son of 
farmworkers, and he himself started working in the fields at the age of 
5. In a way, Miguel never left the field. He carried the struggle with 
him from the fields of the grape boycott, working with Cesar Chavez, to 
the streets, rails and hotels of Los Angeles.
  The labor movement has lost one of its great leaders. We have lost a 
great American. And we have lost one of our great friends.
  Our hearts go out to Miguel's family, to his wife Maria Elena, and 
his sons Michael and Mario.

                          ____________________