[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 60 (Thursday, April 6, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E291]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                          HONORING PATTY ROSE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MARILYN STRICKLAND

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 6, 2023

  Ms. STRICKLAND. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an exceptional 
member of the Pierce County community. I would like to recognize Patty 
Rose and her remarkable career as a workers' rights advocate, as well 
as congratulate her on her well-deserved retirement.
  A Tacoma native, Patty Rose started her labor advocacy career in 1974 
at the local branch of the Service Employees International Union 
(SEIU), a union with national reach that represents service workers in 
the healthcare, public, and property service sectors. During her more 
than 27-year tenure at SEIU, Patty managed the Tacoma office for two 
decades before becoming a SEIU union representative for over 7 years. 
In 1981, Patty joined the Pierce County Central Labor Council as a 
delegate and eventually served as an executive board member in the 
years before her election as the Pierce County Central Labor Council's 
first female Secretary-Treasurer.
  From partnering with equity-focused constituency groups to boost 
union membership among minority workers and increase minority student 
enrollment in apprenticeship programs, to playing a pivotal role in 
helping to pass a 1998 ballot initiative to establish a minimum wage 
indexed to inflation, Patty has been instrumental in uplifting the 
voices of workers in Pierce County and Washington State through her 
work with and later leadership of the Pierce County Central Labor 
Council. Over the past 30 years, the labor movement has seen 
significant changes brought on by the outsourcing of jobs overseas and 
continued threats to organized labor. In spite of all of these 
challenges, Patty has remained steadfast in advancing the interests of 
Washington's workers and fighting for economic justice through her 
tireless engagement of and outreach to her community.
  I commend Patty's courage to meet the challenges of today's economic 
climate by championing union representation of the current workforce 
and her efforts to ensure economic security for the next generation of 
Washington's workers.

                          ____________________