[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 113 (Wednesday, July 13, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1104]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TRIBUTE TO SHELLEY KESSLER UPON HER RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 13, 2016

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Shelley Kessler, a 
pillar of the California Labor Movement, as she retires from serving 
the people of San Mateo County with great distinction and respect, as 
Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the San Mateo County Central Labor 
Council.
   Shelley Kessler has said that she became involved in the labor 
movement because social and economic justice struggles are the basis of 
her life and work. She grew up in Los Angeles, graduated from Sonoma 
State University and began working rotating shifts at Owens Illinois. 
Her union career expanded in 1977 at General Motors where she became 
the first woman elected as a full-time Union Representative of the 
local UAW. She began her 34 year affiliation with the IAM in 1982 when 
she began work at Westinghouse Electric. In 1985 Shelley applied for 
the job of Political Director of the San Mateo County Central Labor 
Council, a position she held for eleven years. For the past twenty 
years she has been Executive Director-Treasurer of the Labor Council 
where she represented 110 affiliated local unions and 70,000 working 
member families.
   On her appointment in 2014 to the California Commission on Health 
and Safety and Workers' Compensation, IAM International President Tom 
Buffenbarger said ``Kessler's unyielding dedication to the working 
families of California and her community is exemplary. The CHSWC is 
fortunate to have such a proud advocate for workers' health and safety 
as a member of its board. ``Shelley Kessler's advocacy has been a force 
for good. She positioned labor as a force in San Mateo County and has 
been a leader in many organizing efforts. She has served on countless 
boards and committees to advance workers and unions, and has earned 
many accolades including the California Labor Federation ``Women Labor 
Leader of the Year'' award, and was inducted into the San Mateo County 
Women's Hall of Fame in recognition of ``Extraordinary Achievements and 
Contributions.''
   Mr. Speaker, I ask the entire House of Representatives to join me in 
honoring a great American woman, pioneer, role model, union leader and 
workers' advocate, Shelley Kessler, as she retires from the San Mateo 
County Central Labor Council. We are a stronger nation because she has 
worked for all of us and we wish her every blessing in her well-
deserved retirement.

                          ____________________