[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 192 (Tuesday, December 3, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1527-E1528]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        IN MEMORY OF MEL OLSSON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 3, 2019

  Mr. COURTNEY. Madam Speaker, I rise to observe and mourn the passing 
one of Southeastern Connecticut's most accomplished and revered 
citizens, Mr. Melvin E. Olsson. Mel, as he was known to all, grew up in 
that region's historic city, New London, attended public school there, 
and upon graduation, immediately enlisted in the Connecticut National 
Guard where he served from 1959 until 1967. He also became part of the 
workforce at our nation's premiere submarine shipyard Electric Boat, 
where he was hired as a pipefitter embarking on a 47-year career, 
building and designing the world's most capable submarines. After his 
start as a metal tradesman, he migrated to the design workforce, which 
was responsible for the flawless conception, execution, and production 
of the Los Angeles, Seawolf, Ohio, and Virginia class submarines that 
have made America's ``silent service'' such an effective deterrent in 
keeping the peace for the last 75 years.
  Mel was a strong advocate for Electric Boat's unionized workers, and 
over time he emerged as the president of the Marine Draftsman's/UAW 
Local 571 which represents all the drafting professionals and 
designers. For thirteen years Mel held that position and successfully 
negotiated contracts in tandem with his brothers and sisters in the 
Metal Trades Council to ensure their skilled work was adequately 
compensated with good salaries and benefits. In the early 2000s, Mel 
was

[[Page E1528]]

presiding at a time of great change at the shipyard which went from a 
workforce of around 30,000 down to just 8,500 in the wake of the fall 
of the Soviet Union. Mel worked tirelessly to assist the people he 
represented, making sure they were given transitional help as 
downsizing occurred. All the while, he continued to advocate for the 
Navy's investment in a new class of Seawolf and Virginia submarines, 
which in hindsight we now know kept that shipyard alive.
  Madam Speaker, as the Congressman from Eastern Connecticut I had the 
honor to work with Mel in the shipyard's efforts to keep the unique, 
irreplaceable skills that made Southeastern Connecticut ``The Submarine 
Capitol of the World.'' When I was elected to Congress in 2006, and was 
selected to serve on the Seapower Subcommittee on the House Armed 
Services Committee, we immediately began a push to boost submarine 
production, building a coalition of the UAW, the Metal Trades 
Department of the AFL-CIO, and industry to ``plus up'' the 2008 
shipbuilding budget. By the Fall of 2007 we defied conventional wisdom 
that a freshman member would never pull that off, when $588 million was 
added to the defense budget, igniting a new era of hiring in Groton. 
Mel's support and advice did not end there. He always made himself 
available, with good advice and a ready smile, if I had a question or 
challenge to face. I will always treasure his friendship.
  Madam Speaker, when Mel stepped down from his union office in the 
2000s, after 47 years of work at the yard, I think most would agree he 
had earned a quiet, easy retirement. However, as many noted, Mel's 
``retirement'' marked the beginning of a second career when he threw 
himself into the region's Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment 
Board (EWIB), the job training platform designated by the federal 
Workforce Investment Act, to shape education and apprenticeship 
programs to meet the region's local economy. Mel was perfect for this 
role. While at Electric Boat, he was always pushing for the shipyard to 
connect young people to the specialized work that went on there, and he 
fostered a mentorship program for high schoolers that still operates 
today. At EWIB, he saw that the need to recapitalize the submarine 
force was going to cause a new hiring spree that the tech schools, 
community colleges and apprenticeship programs needed to adjust to--
fast. With his help, EWIB's innovative Manufacturing Pipeline Program 
received $6 million from the U.S. Department of Labor in 2014, 
establishing an accelerated ``pre-apprenticeship'' program. The program 
far outperformed Labor's targets and has become a national model used 
all over Connecticut and the U.S. to generate new job-ready workers. 
Back home the pipeline has enabled Electric Boat to regrow to a 
workforce that reached 17,000 this year. Electric Boat also restarted 
its own apprenticeship program that Mel had been pressing for years. It 
is showing impressive results, with a new generation of diverse 
talent--more women and minorities in particular--who are embarking on 
not just jobs, but careers. For Mel, this type of work, which was done 
in collaboration with Electric Boat's unions and management, was the 
essence of the value of collective bargaining. Seeing a person's life 
transformed because of the pipeline or an apprenticeship was, in my 
experience knowing Mel, what truly animated him and made him happy. It 
also demonstrated to me what a caring person he was, particularly when 
it came to helping young people.
  What also made Mel very happy was his beautiful family. He shared 54 
years of marital bliss with his wife Dorothy DeGroot Olsson. Together, 
they have a daughter, Alyssa A. Olsson Gaus, and two grandsons, Kyle 
Chase Olsson, and Gavin Olsson Gaus. Mel was also close with his 
brother Karl and his wife Glenda of Niantic. Despite all of his time-
consuming work in the region, his family always came first. Madam 
Speaker, Mel is truly an example of ``a life well lived.'' His funeral 
service in New London where he was born was packed with family, co-
workers, and friends who shared a deep awareness of what a special 
person he was. Please join me in expressing our deepest condolences to 
Mel's family for their loss and our highest respect and regards for his 
inspiring legacy.

                          ____________________