[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 105 (Thursday, June 15, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E571-E572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RECOGNIZING RICHARD LIPSITZ, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BRIAN HIGGINS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 15, 2023

  Mr. HIGGINS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
my friend Richard Lipsitz, Jr., as he receives the Lifetime Achievement 
Award at the Western New York Area Labor Federation's Annual Award 
Dinner.
  A steadfast champion for working men and women, Richard began his 
labor organizing career in 1973, and rose through the ranks at

[[Page E572]]

SEIU and the Teamsters union, eventually leading Western New York's 
Area Labor Federation for a decade.
  From picket lines to shop floors and from union halls to the halls of 
power, Richard has been a forceful voice for working men and women, 
always working to improve and defend workers' living standards and 
working conditions. As leader of the ALF, Richard repeatedly 
demonstrated his talent for building consensus among broad and diverse 
constituencies so that policymakers and the public at-large would see 
what united the labor movement, not what could potentially divide it; 
this has led to real, tangible successes in public policy and 
organizing. His talent and diligence would make this difficult work of 
consensus-building look easy, though surely this was not always the 
case.
  Richard remains a trusted and thoughtful advisor to labor leaders, 
elected officials and civic leaders in Western New York and far beyond. 
His crystal-clear insight, far-reaching perceptiveness and his deep 
understanding of labor, economics and government make that advice 
invaluable.
  I am pleased to join the Western New York Area Labor Federation in 
thanking Richard Lipsitz for his lifetime of dedication to the cause of 
working men and women. We are all the better for his good work.

                          ____________________