[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 215 (Friday, December 18, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1182]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING THE LIFE OF OSCAR BUNCH

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                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 18, 2020

  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life of 
Oscar Bunch. A Virginian, strong and humble working man of uncommon 
grace, Mr. Bunch passed from this life at age 90 on Friday, December 
11, 2020 surrounded by his family in his home.
  Delivered by a midwife, Oscar Bunch was born to Myrtle and Edward 
Bunch on March 12, 1930 in Portsmouth, Virginia. Born in the depths of 
the Great Depression, Oscar knew hard times and hard work early on. As 
a child he was already working long ten-hour days alongside his family 
as sharecroppers picking cotton, peanuts and corn and earning less than 
one dollar a day. This experience, along with values earned from a 
devoutly Christian mother who believed in unconditional love and hard 
work, taught him that all people have value and worth, that hard 
working people deserve to live decently, and that compassion matters.
  When he was thirteen years old, Oscar went to work in the Norfolk 
Navy Yard when World War II created a shortage of workers. At age 
fifteen, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and saw tours of Germany, France 
and Belgium during the war. After the war ended and Oscar returned home 
to Virginia, the GI Bill gave him the opportunity to go the school. He 
earned his Journeyman's card as a pipefitter, finishing his 
apprenticeship in 1952. Along the way Oscar met and married his wife 
Ruby, and together they raised their children Michael, Brian, Wesley 
and Donna.
  The young family moved to Toledo, Ohio, and in 1956 Oscar began his 
career at the Chevrolet Transmission plant on Alexis Road where he 
promptly became involved in the UAW. In 1972 he was elected as the 
Skilled Trades Bargaining Representative of UAW Local 14. He was 
elected the Local 14 President in 1978 and was re-elected to ten 
consecutive terms. To date, Oscar Bunch is the longest serving union 
local President in UAW history. An outstanding negotiator as labor 
leader, Oscar always looked out for the rank-and-file, ensuring their 
voice was heard and their needs met. Among his lasting legacies is 
Oscar Bunch park, a lovely greenspace between the plant and the union 
hall he worked to establish and dedicated in his name upon his 2006 
retirement, where the families of GM workers could gather.
  Oscar spent his career as a labor leader putting into practice the 
lessons he learned in his youth. Humble and unassuming, nonetheless his 
words and actions carried great weight. He was well respected by labor, 
management and community. After retirement, Oscar dedicated his efforts 
to growing the Toledo Public Schools' Toledo Technology Academy to 
educate students in the skilled premier institution it has become. He 
remained an active participant in many community ventures.
  Throughout his life both in public and private, Oscar Bunch sought to 
ensure a better life for the common man. He never forgot where he came 
from and carried with him his modest roots. He instilled those values 
in his own family. We wish for his wife, Ruby, his son and daughter Wes 
and Donna, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, his 
many friends, that they find some comfort in the memories they share 
and the gift of Oscar Bunch's life to them all, and for our entire 
community.

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