[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 14 (Wednesday, February 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E102]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        TRIBUTE TO HARRY LESTER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SANDER M. LEVIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 8, 2006

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the career of Harry 
Lester upon his retirement as the Director of District 2 of the United 
Steelworkers of America.
  Mr. Lester has dedicated his life's work to the well-being and safety 
of steelworkers. The son of a West Virginia coal miner, who was 
tragically lost in a mining accident, Mr. Lester grew up to be a 
leading advocate for protecting the rights of steelworkers through the 
creation and preservation of decent wages, health benefits, workplace 
safety regulations, and education opportunities.
  Mr. Lester began his career as an engineer with the McLouth Steel 
Corporation in Trenton, Michigan, in 1954 and rose to national 
attention in the 1980s for his leading role in the fight to save the 
company from bankruptcy and to preserve the jobs of its 3,600 
steelworkers. As the USWA District Director and a member of the McLouth 
Steel Board of Directors, Mr. Lester orchestrated in 1988 the largest 
employee stock buyout of the time. While the company ultimately closed 
its doors in 1994, he has never ceased in his efforts to preserve the 
United States' steel industry and to provide for the rights of USWA 
members.
  Notably, Mr. Lester engineered a Voluntary Employee Benefit 
Association plan and negotiated Cooperative Partnership Agreements 
between USWA members and National Steel Corporation. As steel companies 
consolidated, Mr. Lester worked at the negotiating table to guarantee 
that these protections were not lost. The language he ensured in these 
negotiations for workplace health and safety was recognized by the 
Supreme Court as the standard for workers. He has extended his 
championing of workers' rights into negotiations with Dow Chemical, 
National Standard, Quanex, and DSC, Ltd.
  In addition to his commitment to his fellow workers, Mr. Lester has 
been a vigorous citizen of Michigan and is deeply committed to 
improving education and health in the State of Michigan. He and his 
wife established the Harry E. & Mary E. Lester Scholarship Fund for 
Steelworker Children to provide scholarship opportunities for the 
children of steelworkers in District Two. He was appointed by three 
governors to serve on the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority's Board 
of Commissioners and serves as a board member to many distinguished 
organizations, including the United Way of Michigan, the Michigan State 
AFL-CIO Board, the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan, and the 
Greater Detroit-Area Health Council. Mr. Lester initiated and co-chairs 
the Annual Downriver Community Prayer Breakfast in Southgate, Michigan, 
and holds the rank of ``Ambassador'' for the Detroit Muslim Temple of 
the Shrine. Recently, Mr. Lester was granted an Honorary Doctorate 
Degree in Humanities from Michigan State University.
  Harry Lester often stood at the intersection of workers' rights and 
public policy. He understood that federal trade policy, and especially 
unfair trade practices of other nations, dramatically impacted the 
industry in which he worked and he was tireless in his efforts to 
impact change in Washington, DC. He also understood the real impact of 
federal policies on workers and their families when it came to 
retirement security, pensions and health care. He was passionate and 
articulate both in terms of impacting legislation, and informing his 
membership of the importance of those policies on their work and family 
life.
  Mr. Speaker, I have been privileged over the years to work with Harry 
Lester, to observe his leadership and to call him a friend, I ask my 
colleagues to join me in paying tribute to Harry Lester for his decades 
of tireless and effective service to our Nation's workers.

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