[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 106 (Monday, June 24, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E824-E825]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING MARGARET ``PEG'' SEMINARIO

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 24, 2019

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
achievements of Margaret ``Peg'' Seminario, who has made the health and 
safety of American workers her life's work and is retiring after 42 
years of tireless advocacy. Through her more than four decades of work 
at the AFL-CIO, Peg has been instrumental in securing the health and 
lives of millions of workers.
  Peg began her work at the AFL-CIO in 1977 during the early years of 
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). She worked 
with many of the authors of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 
1970 to develop the policies, win the court decisions, and build the 
infrastructure that have helped millions of American workers realize 
their right to safe workplaces.
  She worked closely with the labor leaders who fought to pass the 
Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Federal Mine Safety and 
Health Act--George Taylor, Tony Mazzocchi, Jack Sheehan and many 
others.
  She played a major role in assembling the evidence, preparing 
comments, testifying at hearings, and assisting allies in passing 
almost every OSHA safety and health standard over the past 42 years 
including: silica, beryllium, asbestos, lead, noise, ergonomics, 
machine guarding, methylene chloride, lockout-tagout, and workers' 
Right-to-Know. These standards prevented countless injuries, deaths and 
occupational diseases.
  She led the effort to protect working people from occupational 
exposure to anthrax, bird flu, SARS, workplace violence, and 
tuberculosis.
  She led the fight to win passage of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and 
Compensation Act that provided health care and compensation for the 
first responders who got sick after they responded to the terrorist 
attacks on September 11, 2001.
  Peg served on numerous National Academy of Sciences and federal 
advisory committees, providing her expertise on a wide range of 
workplace safety and health issues, including the extent and nature of 
work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths occurring in the United 
States.
  Peg was also one of the first professional women to work at the AFL-
CIO, blazing the path for those who followed, and she served as a 
mentor for generations of women labor leaders.
  She advised those inside and outside the labor movement on practical 
strategies to move forward on seemingly insoluble issues. As she kept 
workers' goals in mind, her feet were always planted in practical 
politics. She approached the toughest political challenges by asking a 
simple, familiar question: ``What makes sense?''

[[Page E825]]

  Working with the business community and other traditional foes of 
labor were part of her strategic arsenal when that approach ``made 
sense'' to accomplish the goals of working people.
  With an advanced degree in industrial hygiene from the Harvard School 
of Public Health, she served as a trusted advisor to almost every 
Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA--Democrat and Republican--over 
the last 40 years.
  Finally, she understood the role that worker empowerment and labor 
unions play in ensuring the safety of working women and men.
  ``Let's call Peg'' was the first thing out of the mouth of 
generations of members of Congress and congressional staff. She 
testified before numerous congressional committees and provided 
valuable information and advice to lawmakers on every budget, every 
piece of legislation designed to strengthen worker protections, and 
every response to legislative efforts to weaken or dismantle OSHA, the 
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) or the National Institute 
for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
  Madam Speaker, there are men and women across the county who are 
alive today because of her work. They may not know who she is. She will 
not receive their gratitude. But they owe their health, their limbs and 
their lives to the work she has done over 42 year long career. I thank 
Peg for all that she has done for America's workers.

                          ____________________