[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 89 (Monday, June 15, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         A TRIBUTE TO FRED LOWE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 15, 2009

  Mr. SCHIFF. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend Mr. Fred Lowe for 
his extraordinary work and leadership as Business Manager of the 
Laborers' International Union of North America, Local 777.
  Fred Lowe was born in Cleveland, Ohio and raised in California's San 
Fernando Valley where, in 1966, he graduated from North Hollywood High 
School.
  Mr. Lowe began his career as a freelance journalist in the early 
1970s while actively participating in the anti-war movement during the 
Vietnam War. He became involved in the Labor Movement in 1976 while 
employed as a warehouse worker at a General Electric plant in San Jose, 
California. As a Shop Steward at General Electric, he helped organize 
his coworkers into Local 6 of the International Longshore and Warehouse 
Union.
  Fred continued on to serve several unions, organizing and 
representing workers in both the public and private sector. He worked 
with individuals in skilled trades and service industries, as well as 
university professors and administrative and clerical workers. In the 
mid 1980s, he became involved in the Sanctuary Movement for refugees 
fleeing war and political oppression in El Salvador and Guatemala. In 
1994, Fred Lowe served as an international observer to El Salvador's 
first democratic election.
  By the mid 1990s, he returned to union organizing, finding his home 
within the Laborers' International Union of North America (L.I.U.N.A.). 
Working with the union's Organizing Department in 1996, Fred played an 
important role in managing a historic election of 5,200 Riverside 
County employees. With his leadership, L.I.U.N.A. gained its largest 
public sector organizing victory in the union's history. Shortly after 
the win, the union became known as L.I.U.N.A., Local 777.
  Under Mr. Lowe's exceptional leadership as Business Manager, Local 
777 has grown to represent over 8,000 members throughout both Riverside 
and Los Angeles counties. His determined efforts have shaped Local 777 
into an outstanding example of political activism, helping to elect 
public officials who serve the needs of labor. For more than 30 years, 
Fred Lowe has worked as an effective advocate for laborers' rights in 
Southern California and has been instrumental in working toward 
equitable employee relations in Riverside and Los Angeles Counties. 
Fred and his wife Karen have three children, Luisa, Sonya, and Michael 
Scott.
  On June 30, 2009, Mr. Lowe will retire from his position as Business 
Manager of L.I.U.N.A., Local 777. It is my great pleasure to recognize 
the extraordinary dedication and achievements of Mr. Fred Lowe and I 
ask all Members of Congress to join me in thanking him for his service.

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