[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 106 (Wednesday, July 9, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1128-E1129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




A TRIBUTE IN HONOR OF THE RETIREMENT OF MIKE GARCIA, PRESIDENT OF SEIU 
                      UNITED SERVICE WORKERS WEST

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ZOE LOFGREN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 9, 2014

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise with my colleagues, Congresswoman 
Karen Bass, Congressman Xavier Becerra, Congressman Ami Bera, 
Congresswoman Julia Brownley, Congresswoman Lois Capps, Congressman 
Tony Cardenas, Congressman Jim Costa, Congresswoman Susan Davis, 
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, Congressman Sam Farr, Congressman John 
Garamendi, Congresswoman Janice Hahn, Congressman Mike Honda, 
Congressman Jared Huffman, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Congressman

[[Page E1129]]

Alan Lowenthal, Congresswoman Doris Matsui, Congressman Jerry McNerney, 
Congressman George Miller, Congresswoman Grace Napolitano, 
Congresswoman Gloria Negrete McLeod, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, 
Congressman Scott Peters, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, 
Congressman Raul Ruiz, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, Congresswoman 
Loretta Sanchez, Congressman Adam Schiff, Congressman Brad Sherman, 
Congresswoman Jackie Speier, Congressman Eric Swalwell, Congressman 
Mark Takano, Congressman Mike Thompson, Congressman Juan Vargas, 
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and Congressman Henry Waxman to honor our 
dear friend Mike Garcia who is retiring after more than 30 years of 
service to working families in California.
   Mike served as the President of Service Employees International 
Union United Service Workers West (SEIU USSW) between 1988 and 2014, 
where he led 40,000 janitors, security officers and airport workers 
across California in the fight for good jobs. Mike has been involved in 
the labor movement since 1980, when he began his career organizing 
janitors first in San Jose and later in San Diego in the ``Justice for 
Janitors'' campaign.
   In 2010 he oversaw the merger of several local unions into SEIU 
USWW, a statewide union of property service workers. Mike guided SEIU 
USWW through years of dramatic growth, taking a union of 1,800 janitors 
and building a powerful statewide local on the forefront of fighting 
for immigrants' rights and lifting working families out of poverty.
   Mike had a deep understanding of policy and the questions that 
matter most to working class Californians. He was also extremely brave; 
willing to face the strongest adversaries when fighting for those who 
needed his help. According to Mike, his greatest accomplishment was 
winning the historic janitors' strike of 2000 in Los Angeles, an action 
he proudly notes ``changed the lives of thousands of janitors and their 
families because USWW members--the real heroes of the strike--laid it 
all on the line for a chance to win and bring their families into the 
American middle class.''
   In retirement Mike will remain a powerful voice for vulnerable 
populations and a strong advocate for comprehensive immigration reform 
to help millions of aspiring citizens achieve better lives.
   Mr. Speaker, we ask the entire House of Representatives to join us 
in honoring Mike Garcia for his service to our Country.

                          ____________________