[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 79 (Thursday, May 21, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1239]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING ALBIN GRUHN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 21, 2009

  Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I rise with sadness today to 
honor Albin Gruhn of San Anselmo, California, who passed away March 18 
at the age of 94. Mr. Gruhn was a respected an beloved labor leader and 
consumer rights activist whose calling was the welfare of the working 
people of California. His 36 years as president of the California Labor 
Federation and his role as a founder of the Association of California 
Consumers were at the heart of a remarkable career.
  Mr. Gruhn was born in Eureka, California, in 1915. At the age of 19 
he began working for the Hammond Lumber Co. where he joined the Sawmill 
and Loggers Federal Union. A strike shortly afterwards resulted in the 
deaths of three union picketers and deeply affected him, resulting in a 
life-long commitment to the labor movement.
  He was also blacklisted as a result of his participation in the 
strike but soon found employment in construction, joining the Laborers 
Local where his membership continued for over 60 years. At the age of 
22, he became secretary of the Central Labor Council of Humboldt and 
Del Norte Counties and led that council for over 20 years.
  In 1940 Mr. Gruhn was first elected to what is now the California 
Labor Federation as district vice president and became its president in 
1960. He led with skill, enthusiasm, and passion until his retirement 
in 1996. He helped build the organization into a strong and effective 
advocacy group for the rights of workers, inspiring several generations 
of political and labor leaders along the way.
  During the 1960s, Mr. Gruhn was also a founder of the Association of 
California Consumers, California's first consumer group, and later 
became a founding officer and then president emeritus of the Consumer 
Federation of California. He also devoted some of his considerable 
energies to the California Apprenticeship Council and the California 
Constitution Revision Commission as well as serving on various state 
commissions. These were appointments over the decades by five 
California governors and covered a variety of issues from fair housing 
to air pollution. One of the commissions dealt with children and youth, 
reflecting his deep involvement in the annual scholarship program 
established by the California Labor Federation.
  Mr. Gruhn was always politically active as a means of supporting the 
causes he believed in. From campaigning for Franklin Roosevelt at the 
age of 17 to serving as an Adlai Stevenson delegate in 1956, he stayed 
engaged in the process. In 1944, he founded the Northern California AFL 
Political League.
  Mr. Gruhn was married to the former Dorothy Coon for over 37 years. 
Dorothy predeceased him in 2005, and the couple are survived by a large 
family of eight children, 14 grandchildren, and 17 great grandchildren.
  Madam Speaker, Albin Gruhn was proud to fight for working people, and 
all those with whom he came in contact--from family and friends to 
political leaders and co-workers--drew inspiration from his commitment. 
It is fitting in honoring him today to remember the remarks he always 
used to conclude his labor speeches: ``In unity there is strength. 
United we stand, divided we fall. An injury to one is an injury to 
all.''

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