[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 20, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1539]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING MIKHAIL VOLYNETS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. CURT WELDON

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 20, 2005

  Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Mikhail Volynets, 
recipient of the AFL-CIO's 2004 George Meany-Lane Kirkland Human Rights 
Award, was elected Chairperson of the Independent Trade Union of Miners 
of Ukraine in 1995, and became its president in 1997. Having previously 
worked as a miner, and then as a mining engineer, Mr. Volynets 
participated in the Ukraine's first miner's strikes in 1989, later 
leading a series of successful mass protests in 1991. Using his 
leadership position, Mr. Volynets organized the Trade Union of Miners 
to become an instrumental part of Ukraine's Orange Revolution, which 
resulted in Viktor Yuschenko's rise to the Presidency in the fall of 
2004. Having first been elected to the Ukrainian Parliament (Rada) in 
2002, Mr. Volynets is currently a Deputy in the Rada, working to 
further secure democracy in Ukraine. I congratulate Mr. Volynets for 
his courage and determination in the face of fear and uncertainty.

                          ____________________