[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 129 (Thursday, October 6, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2034]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INDUCTION OF ARNOLD KORPI INTO THE UPPER PENINSULA LABOR HALL OF FAME

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                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 6, 2005

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an educator 
who has played a key role in organizing teachers in Michigan's Upper 
Peninsula for seventeen years. It is for this lifelong dedication to 
his noble profession of teaching and contributions to the labor 
movement that Arnold Korpi so richly deserves to be inducted into the 
Upper Peninsula Labor Hall of Fame.
  After spending nearly two decades, from 1946 to 1964, as a business 
education teacher in Rockland and Wakefield, Michigan and as a 
professor at Gogebic Community College, Mr. Korpi became an early labor 
leader for the teachers of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
  Mr. Korpi was tireless in his commitment as a leader in the labor 
cause. Mr. Korpi held a number of prestigious positions throughout the 
Michigan Education Association (MEA) and civic organizations, including 
his service on the Board of Directors of the Michigan Education Special 
Services Association (MESSA), as President of Michigan Education 
Association Region 18, as President of the Upper Peninsula Business 
Teachers' Association, as President of the Gogebic County District of 
the Michigan Education Association, as President of the Wisconsin 
Alumni Association and as a board member and President of the Northern 
Michigan University ``N'' Club.
  Mr. Korpi further served the MEA as President and Treasurer of the 
Michigan Education Association Professional Staff Association serving 
all Uni-Serv Directors in Michigan; as President of the National Staff 
Organization; and as the Uni-Serv Director for the Michigan Education 
Association/National Education Association from 1964 until 1981.
  In addition to holding many high ranking positions within the MEA, 
Mr. Korpi was also the founder, leader, organizer and Treasurer of the 
Upper Peninsula Education Association, which continues to be a valuable 
organization for teachers bargaining labor contracts across the Upper 
Peninsula.
  Arnold Korpi is known for far more than his brilliant organizing and 
advocacy skills. Described as an early leader and a moving force for 
the Michigan Teacher Tenure Act, Mr. Korpi helped lay the groundwork 
for the professional teachers' bargaining and job security issues. He 
was part of the historic Teacher Tenure legislation which enabled 
classroom educators to teach and act without fear of reprisal, thus 
fostering and encouraging the academic freedoms for all Michigan 
teachers.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the U.S. House of Representatives to join me in 
thanking Mr. Arnold Korpi and his family for his dedication to the 
education labor movement in Michigan. Arnold Korpi has more than earned 
his place in Michigan's Upper Peninsula Labor Hall of Fame for his 
commitment to his community and his teaching profession.

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