[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 103 (Thursday, June 25, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E981]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING WAYNE BURGESS UPON HIS RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 2015

  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to thank and honor an 
advocate, employee, veteran, and community leader from my district, Mr. 
Wayne Burgess, upon his retirement. Wayne has been a fixture of the 
Groton community for nearly 50 years, as the longest serving Principal 
Officer of MDA-UAW Local 571, as the President of the Southeastern 
Connecticut Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, and as a leader in 
countless other local service organizations.
  His energy and commitment are boundless, as evidenced by his 
impressive accomplishments, beginning with his service in the Navy 
during the Vietnam War. Wayne served three deployments aboard the USS 
Taylor from 1967-1969 before returning home to work at Electric Boat, 
where he has remained involved ever since. At EB, he worked as a 
technical/test writer before being elected MDA-UAW Financial Secretary 
in 1988. In the years that followed, Wayne constantly saw new 
opportunities for EB and its employees. He began the EB School to Work 
program in the City of Groton that allows high school juniors the 
opportunity to work at EB during the summers.
  Wayne also devotes his time to the United Way of Southeastern 
Connecticut, serving on the Food Advisory Board for the Gemma E. Moran 
United Way Center in New London and serves as the volunteer Chairman of 
the Charter Oak Credit Union Supervisory Committee. He is a devoted 
advocate for labor, for good jobs, for opportunity, and for the 
hardworking members of our community.
  Please join me in thanking Wayne Burgess for the monumental impact he 
has made on the Groton community, and wishing him a peaceful and 
productive retirement.

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