[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 165 (Thursday, October 4, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S6537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO FRANK T. LIBBY

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today I want to honor my friend Frank 
Libby for his extraordinary service to my home State of Illinois. Last 
month, after 42 years of service to the brothers and sisters of the 
Union Brotherhood of Carpenters, Frank Libby retired.
  A decade after the Great Chicago Fire, in 1881, a group of 35 
carpenter leaders met in a Chicago warehouse and hammered out an 
agreement to form a single, unified union. The United Brotherhood of 
Carpenters was born. Ever since, the Carpenters union has been a 
leader, building and growing communities by bringing countless skilled 
women and men to the construction industry.
  Frank Libby is an outstanding part of that rich history. Throughout 
his career, Frank held a variety of positions. As a member of Local 10, 
he has served as warden, recording secretary, business representative, 
financial secretary-treasurer, and president for the past 24 years. In 
2008, Frank became the 24th president/executive secretary-treasurer of 
the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters, representing working 
families across 72 counties throughout Illinois and eastern Iowa.
  Under Frank's leadership, the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters 
flourished, becoming the largest building trades union in the State of 
Illinois with a membership in the tens of thousands. He fearlessly 
confronted the unprecedented challenges facing the union and had the 
courage to make the necessary decisions enabling the union to not only 
survive the great recession, but actually thrive.
  If that wasn't enough, Frank Libby also served as a member of the 
executive board of the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters and the 
Chicago Federation of Labor and as a trustee on the Carpenters' Welfare 
and Pension Fund and the Carpenters' Apprenticeship Training Fund. 
Frank also served on the Illinois State Council of Carpenters' 
executive board and as a past board member to the Chicago Convention 
and Tourism Bureau, but his legacy will be realized by the generations 
of carpenters who, because of his leadership and vision, will receive 
fair wages and healthcare for their family. Frank Libby has given the 
gift of peace of mind to countless future carpenters and their 
families, who can retire with dignity because of the benefits Frank 
fought to secure. They will know that Frank's hard work earned and 
ensured a safe work environment where carpenters return to their 
families at the end of each workday.
  I want to congratulate Frank Libby on his distinguished career and 
thank him for his outstanding service to the people of Chicago. I 
especially want to thank Frank's wife Gail and their daughter Cynthia 
for sharing so much of their husband and father with our community. I 
wish him and his family all the best in their next chapter.

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