[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 68 (Monday, April 28, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S3434]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO EDWARD M. SMITH

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor my good friend 
Edward M. Smith, a man for whom I have great respect and admiration.
  Ed has been involved in the labor movement in Illinois for more than 
40 years. He is deeply committed to the working families of America.
  As a leader in the Laborers' International Union, Ed has worked to 
ensure workers earn a living wage, good benefits and the opportunity to 
advance and better their lives.
  He is stepping down as Midwest Regional Manager of the Laborers' 
International Union of North America, Vice President of Laborers' 
International and Assistant to the General President, to become 
President of the Union Labor Life Insurance Company, labor's own 
insurance and financial services company.
  For those who may not be familiar with the Laborers, they are the men 
and women who do the hard, dangerous work of building our country.
  Ed literally grew up in the labor movement. He was only 13 when he 
joined Laborers' Local 773 in Cairo, IL. He worked his way through 
school as a construction craft laborer.
  He was elected business manager of his local union in 1976 at the 
young age of 21. A decade later, he was elected president of the 
Southern Illinois Laborers' District Council.
  In 1994, Ed was elected Midwest Regional Manager of the Laborers' 
International, leading more than 50,000 union members. Two years later, 
he was elected Vice President of the Laborers' International Union and 
became Assistant to the General President of the Union.
  Laborers' International Union is one of the fastest-growing unions of 
construction workers and Ed oversaw over 30 successful organizing 
campaigns, mainly in the public sector.
  Ed was the first member of the Laborers' International Union to 
graduate from the National Labor College with a bachelors degree. Ed 
also graduated from the Harvard University Trade program and from 
Shawnee College. In 1992, he received Shawnee College's first 
outstanding alumni award.
  As Ed fought for Illinois' working families, he raised his own family 
with his wife Betty. He has two children, daughter Jordan and son Matt.
  Ed also devotes a great deal of his life to charitable organizations. 
He has been a major benefactor to the Therapy Center in Carterville, 
IL, an organization that assists physically disabled children. He also 
serves as a board member of the I Can Read Program, for children with 
reading and learning disabilities.
  In addition to his many union roles, Ed is well respected for his 
leadership with the Illinois State Board of Investment, the Illinois 
Department of Labor Advisory Board, and the National Alliance for Fair 
Contracting.
  Ed Smith is a big man with a big heart. It says something about him 
that he has risen to such prominence in the American labor movement 
without ever leaving his hometown of Cairo, IL and without ever losing 
touch with his Midwestern roots and values. While he has remained in 
southern Illinois, the effects of his work can be seen and felt 
throughout our Nation.
  As my friend Ed Smith begins the next chapter in his life, I want to 
congratulate him on his retirement from Laborers' International Union 
and thank him for over 40 years of dedication to working men and women. 
I wish him the best in his new role as president of Union Labor Life 
Insurance Company as he continues to protect the working families of 
America.

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