[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 156 (Thursday, September 26, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





  IN RECOGNITION OF THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GREATER WILKES-BARRE 
                             LABOR COUNCIL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MATT CARTWRIGHT

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 26, 2019

  Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Greater 
Wilkes-Barre Labor Council on its 125th Anniversary. Since 1894, the 
Labor Council has been a force of good in the Wyoming Valley, 
championing the rights and interests of workers in the area. The 
milestone will be celebrated along with the 120th anniversary of the 
Northeastern Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council at a 
special event on Saturday, September 28, 2019.
  In the early evening of September 28, 1894, John Casey and Daniel 
Shovlin of the Plumbers and Steamfitters Union, Pat O'Neil and John 
Gibbon of the Stone Cutters Union, Amos Ayers of the Carpenters Union, 
and David Grover of the Painters Union met in a stone-cutting yard on 
South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania before seeking shelter 
from the rain under the South Street Bridge. These visionary men 
discussed forming a central labor union to unite laborers from across 
the city to fight for fair wages, safe working conditions, and 
equitable treatment from their employers. It was under that bridge that 
the Wilkes-Barre Central Labor Union was born.
  By 1899, 118 local unions counted themselves as members of the 
Wilkes-Barre Central Labor Union, and as many as 300 delegates 
regularly attended meetings. To accommodate their ever-growing 
membership, John Casey (who would go on to represent the region in the 
U.S. House as a pro-labor legislator) and John Mullery created the 
Building Trades Council as a subcommittee of the Central Labor Union. 
The Union supported historic movements such as the 1900 and the 1902 
anthracite strikes where they assisted John Marshall in organizing the 
United Mine Workers of America. Throughout the 20th Century, the 
Council supported movements large and small in the region to reflect 
the best interests of workers across a variety of industries. In the 
mid-1950s, the Wilkes-Barre Central Labor Union became officially known 
as the Labor Council.
  Today, the Labor Council operates out of a former church in Wilkes-
Barre. There are 47 locals affiliated with the Greater Wilkes-Barre 
Labor Council, representing both private and public sector occupations. 
The Council holds an annual Labor Day festival in Kirby Park and 
continues to support community-wide charitable campaigns.
  It is an honor to recognize the Greater Wilkes-Barre Labor Council on 
its 125th Anniversary. Its hard work and dedication to protecting the 
rights of workers in Northeastern Pennsylvania has been remarkable. I 
wish its leaders and members the best as they continue to advocate on 
behalf of our workers for years to come.

                          ____________________