[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 43 (Thursday, April 6, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E550-E551]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO THE LATE DAVE PETERSON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 6, 2006

  Mr. MOORE of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the late 
Dave Peterson, of Overland Park, Kansas, who died on March 20th. Dave 
was born March 31, 1951, to Harold and Josephine (Lewis) Peterson. He 
was a lifelong resident of the Kansas City area and married Cindy 
Peterson, with whom he had two daughters: Erica and Andrea Peterson, 
all of Overland Park. He is also survived by his sister Pat Higgins and 
brothers Harold Peterson, Jr., and John Peterson.
  Dave Peterson was a member of United Auto Workers Local 31 since he 
began working at General Motors in 1976. He became the President of the 
local in 2002, a position he held until the time of his death. He was 
also the President of the Kansas State CAP Council, the AFL-CIO Tri-
County Labor Council, was a past member of the executive board of the 
Wyandotte County United Way and was involved in numerous charity 
organizations throughout the community. He formerly served as an 
executive board member of the Kansas AFL-CIO. Dave worked at the GM-
Fairfax facility in Kansas City, Kansas, for 30 years, starting on the 
production line and then going

[[Page E551]]

through an apprenticeship program to become a skilled tradesman.
  Mr. Speaker, the details of his life do not paint the full picture of 
the personality and influence that Dave Peterson brought to bear in the 
Kansas City metropolitan area. As Kevin O'Neill, the publisher of the 
Labor Beacon said in his paper's obituary concerning Dave: ``Whenever I 
thought of Dave Peterson, I thought of passion. The man was full of 
passion. That is what made him a great leader. That is what made him a 
great man.'' As Garry Kemp, Business Manager for the Greater Kansas 
City Building Trades said, in the same article, ``All who knew him will 
acknowledge that he wasn't bashful whenever he spoke, publicly or 
privately, regarding the working people and their equal rights to 
obtain an economically fair and just livelihood from the services 
rendered.'' Dave Peterson was a friend, neighbor and advisor of mine. 
His enthusiasm, integrity and dedication to the public interest will be 
sorely missed by all of us in public service in the Kansas City metro 
area. I echo the sentiments expressed on the Kansas Democratic Party's 
Web site concerning the passing of Dave Peterson: ``Dave was a well-
reasoned and common sense advisor to government and business leaders 
across the state. He was an active, passionate and vocal Democrat who 
never hesitated to tell anyone how he felt, and that he was proud to be 
a Democrat. Dave's leadership and dedication will be missed.''

  While Dave and I did not agree on every policy issue that came before 
Congress, I respected his counsel and welcomed his advice. Our 
community is richer for his having been among us and we are poorer 
today because we have lost him. Mr. Speaker, I include with this 
statement the obituary regarding Dave Peterson that was published in 
the Kansas City Star:

           Dave Peterson, President of UAW Local, Dies at 54

               [From the Kansas City Star, Mar. 23, 2006]

                         (By Randolph Heaster)

       Dave Peterson, a prominent local union leader, died Monday. 
     He was 54.
       Peterson became president of United Auto Workers Local 31 
     in 2002 and served as its recording secretary before that. He 
     was also president of the AFL-CIO Tri-County Labor Council of 
     Eastern Kansas.
       Peterson's activism on behalf of causes supported by 
     organized labor was well known among community and civic 
     leaders. He and Local 31, which represents workers at the 
     General Motors Fairfax assembly plant, also were active in 
     United Way fundraising in Wyandotte County.
       He put Local 31 on the map in the political arena and in 
     the labor movement in general, said Jeff Manning, Local 31 
     vice president. He touched a lot of people, and he was always 
     involved in charitable causes.
       Peterson was one of the principal organizers of last year's 
     Labor Day parade, the first in Kansas City in 13 years. He 
     thought such a tradition was sorely needed to reinvigorate a 
     labor movement that was still recovering from the setbacks of 
     the 2004 elections.
       We're looking for something to rally around, he said at the 
     time. If we don't come together and show some solidarity, 
     we're all going to wind up losing.
       Peterson regularly attended a monthly breakfast meeting 
     between union officials and local media members. That was 
     where Gordon Clark said he got to know Peterson better and 
     began working with him on various issues.
       Dave was one of the best labor leaders that I've known, and 
     I've looked up to him the last few years for guidance and 
     leadership, said Clark, president of Transport Workers Union 
     Local 530, which represents American Airlines workers. I was 
     proud to know him. Clark said Peterson was quick to volunteer 
     his time for training or teaching forums on matters 
     affecting organized labor.
       He always made the Local 31 union hall available for 
     whoever needed a bigger space, Clark said.
       Peterson worked at the Fairfax plant for 30 years. He 
     survived a 21-month layoff when GM eliminated a second shift 
     in the early 1980s. Peterson was president when GM decided to 
     invest $500 million in the Fairfax plant to build the new 
     Chevrolet Malibu. With a new Saturn passenger car also 
     expected to come on line this year, the Fairfax plant 
     survived GM's decision last fall to close several plants in 
     an effort to become profitable.
       After years of suffering through temporary shutdowns from 
     slow sales in the 1980s and 1990s, the Fairfax plant's 3,000 
     employees have had steady work and overtime since the 
     Malibu's introduction three years ago. But Peterson continued 
     to warn the public about the trend among U.S. corporations to 
     eliminate high-paying domestic jobs and opening plants in 
     countries with cheap labor.
       He was definitely a working man's friend, Manning said. If 
     you worked hard, he believed you should be rewarded for that. 
     He will be greatly missed.

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