[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 26, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H4020-H4022]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING MIKE WILLIAMS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 9, 2023, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Soto) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to recognize an incredible, 
longtime labor leader in Florida, a man who spent so much of his life 
to improve the lives of working families throughout the Sunshine State, 
and a man I call a dear friend.
  Robert Michael Williams, or, as we knew him, Mike Williams, was born 
on October 27, 1950, in McIntosh, Florida, to Bob and Martha Williams. 
Mike's father worked in the paper mills and relocated his family to 
work in North Carolina and St. Marys, Georgia, where

[[Page H4021]]

Mike graduated from Camden County High School in 1968.
  Mike lettered in football and basketball during all 4 years of high 
school. He was a pretty tall guy. He excelled in academics, represented 
his school at Boys State, participated in debate club, and, in his 
senior year, served as the student council president and ``Mr. CCHS,'' 
along with several other superlatives.
  After attending Georgia Tech and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College 
for a brief time, Mike packed his acoustic guitar, backpacked Europe, 
and then returned home only to head west to Colorado.
  To support himself, Mike worked several different jobs, reflecting, 
``I worked many temporary jobs in the service and construction 
industries, living paycheck to paycheck.''
  Mike returned to Florida and began his career as a construction 
electrician with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 
otherwise known as IBEW, Local 177 in Jacksonville. During his time at 
the local, he chased work for years, traveling around the country in a 
travel trailer.
  For Mike, holding a union card meant having dignity and respect on 
the job, a living wage, healthcare, retirement benefits, education, and 
training opportunities.
  Mike learned early on in his career that, for far too long, far too 
many middle-class families had difficulty with basic workplace rights 
and that those rights remained out of reach as they struggled to pay 
rent, put food on the table, and seek medical attention.
  ``Becoming a member of the union meant finally having my hard work 
pay off by creating an opportunity for achieving personal goals and 
being able to provide for my family the way I wanted to. And it meant 
having the opportunity to achieve the American Dream, a dream that so 
many want to take away today.''
  After working his trade for 15 years, Mike decided to take on 
leadership roles with his union by running for and being elected to 
become the business manager of his local.
  Eight years later, Mike went on to serve as president of the Florida 
Building Trades Council, increasing the presence of the Florida 
building trades during the legislative session in Tallahassee and 
building a powerful voice for construction trades statewide.
  Mike understood the impact a voice on the job can make on the lives 
of working people, but it wasn't until his trip to Colombia with the 
AFL-CIO Solidarity Center that he understood the global imperative of 
worker solidarity.
  During the trip, Mike witnessed the damage both corporate and 
government forces could inflict on the rights of workers and the 
dangers of living in a state lacking the institutions to help combat 
these abuses.
  He saw violence and hatred directed at those who were trying to 
organize for better living conditions and to make a better life for 
their families. The trip solidified Mike's commitment to fight for all 
working people.
  In 2009, he was elected president of the Florida AFL-CIO. During his 
term, the Florida AFL-CIO expanded its powerful legislative and 
political advocacy by introducing Working Families Lobby Corps, a 
program where union members travel to Tallahassee daily during the 
legislative session and directly engage with their lawmakers.
  This program continues to be a central force in building coalitions 
between labor and community organizations. His efforts are still 
thriving and carry on the vision that he saw for all working families.
  Mike also extended the vision of labor to represent all workers by 
fostering new alliances with community, immigrant, and faith-based 
groups. To enact that vision, Mike spearheaded the creation of Fight 
for Florida to communicate the labor movement's message to the broader 
public.
  Fight for Florida started as a website and blog that evolved to 
engage people and content creators outside of union membership on 
social and economic justice issues with the primary focus of informing 
the public that the work the Florida AFL-CIO does is for every working 
family.
  As a Florida native, Mike understood the impacts that hurricanes can 
have on our communities and residents. Mike was hugely instrumental in 
organizing and participating in hurricane relief efforts in Florida and 
for other neighbors in the Southeast. He coordinated with various 
entities, including the Teamsters, to move goods, as well as FEMA and 
the national AFL-CIO to supply and staff these efforts, often traveling 
to the affected areas himself to distribute ice, water, food, formula, 
and diapers.
  Later in his tenure as president, the AFL-CIO appointed Mike to their 
Racial Justice Task Force Advisory Committee, joining other union 
leaders from across the country to help combat racism in the ranks of 
union members and their locals.
  As someone born in the South who attended segregated schools, as a 
southern White gentleman, this left a profound impact on him, 
reinvigorating his resolve for equality and justice for working people 
facing hardships due to discrimination.

                              {time}  1945

  Mike leaves behind his loving partner, Jeanette ``Jet'' Netwal; 
daughters, Amanda Williams of Saukville, Wisconsin, and Suzanne 
Williams of Asheville, North Carolina; grandchildren, Zane Tinney, 
Ethan Williams, and Hailey Wilson; sisters, Jane Buffkin of Locust 
Grove, Georgia; and Beth (Tom) Mason of Riverview, Florida; brother, 
Mike (Laurie) Williams of St. Petersburg, Florida; and many nieces and 
nephews.
  Beyond his dedication to fighting for the rights of working families, 
Mike was a man of diverse passions. Whether strumming his guitar or 
relaxing on his beloved boat, a 1985 Chris Craft Constellation, he 
found solace and joy in the simple pleasures in life, almost always 
wearing one of his iconic tropical, Florida T-shirts and button-down 
shirt.
  Joined by his loving partner Jet, he cherished precious moments 
watching the mesmerizing Florida sunsets and embarking on unforgettable 
road trips. Never failing to advocate for his fellow union members, 
Mike often visited picket lines and organizational efforts in support 
of those in need. His absence reverberates through the labor community 
in Florida, as his unwavering commitment inspired a generation to carry 
forth his legacy and fight tirelessly for the rights of working 
families in Florida and beyond.
  Mike will be sorely missed, but his transformative impact will 
continue to shine brightly and guide us in the pursuit of a fairer and 
more just society.
  Mr. Speaker, I had the honor of serving nearly 10 years in 
Tallahassee, both in the State house and State senate, and Mike and I 
worked on a lot of battles together. We worked to help those who served 
our State in administrative capacities. We worked for first responders 
like our cops, firefighters, and EMTs, our teachers, and so many other 
civil servants to protect pensions so that they can retire in dignity. 
We fought for better pay, better benefits, and for safer working 
conditions throughout the Sunshine State.
  When I got here to Washington in 2017, I made sure to always remember 
our roots, and I would go back to visit them every year in Tallahassee 
during session. Some years were good. Some years not so much. However, 
we always fought side by side to improve progress.
  I remember so many issues starting to happen while we were here in 
Congress that we would work on together. When the SunRail was being 
expanded and plans were made to expand it, as well as Brightline, a 
high-speed rail coming from Miami to Orlando, and when we worked on 
Amtrak issues together, I remember being the first one to sit in his 
office and let him know that high-speed rail was coming to Florida and 
how we needed to make it safe and economical, and make sure that people 
were being paid fairly and had the opportunity to unionize should they 
want to.
  Then, Mr. Speaker, after a tough couple of years, Mike got to see 
President Biden sworn into office after 4 years of tough situations 
with labor. He saw us have the most productive session in 50 years. We 
passed giant laws out of this very Chamber: The American Rescue Plan, 
the infrastructure law, the CHIPS Act, the PACT Act, and the Inflation 
Reduction Act.
  We got to talk about so many of those issues, but particularly for 
him as an electrician, as an IBEW guy, as a building trades guy, the 
infrastructure

[[Page H4022]]

law was of particular importance to him.
  A generation of so many Americans, from sea to shining sea, will have 
work to do to upgrade America, to make sure all of our bridges, all of 
our roads, all of our highways, all of our water systems, all of our 
utility systems--which Mike would be most particularly proud about--as 
well as rural broadband and so many other areas. So many jobs, such a 
way to invest in the future. There are also a lot of clean energy 
projects coming to Florida and around our Nation to help boost solar, 
wind, nuclear, hydro, so many areas he cared deeply about. The CHIPS 
Act, which is bringing a record number of manufacturing starts in our 
Nation. In fact, we have seen a doubling, year over year, of new 
advanced manufacturing centers coming across the Nation.
  The good news, Mr. Speaker, it takes thousands, hundreds of thousands 
of construction workers to help make these visions for our country a 
reality.
  Mike always remembered our veterans. We have so many members of the 
AFL-CIO who served in the military. I remember getting to talk to him 
proudly about when we passed the PACT Act, helping so many veterans 
coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan, those facing terrible injuries 
from burn pits, and the veterans from Vietnam who still weren't getting 
their benefits, finally done in this critical landmark legislation to 
help our veterans.
  Of course, he definitely had a smile as President Biden talked about 
these major laws and that they are going to provide good-paying union 
jobs. Of course, this is a fight now for the next generation.
  I am going to miss him, Mr. Speaker, and I know so many of my 
colleagues will as well.
  I also have some remarks from Representative Wasserman Schultz that I 
will read into the Record:

       Mr. Speaker, with a heavy heart, I rise to honor the 
     remarkable life of the recently departed Florida AFL-CIO 
     President Mike Williams.
       Starting as an apprentice, he became an electrician, 
     working the temporary service and construction jobs, and 
     living paycheck to paycheck, like so many workers do.
       Seeing the critical value of job protections and livable 
     wages, he devoted his life to the labor movement, first as a 
     rank-and-file member for 15 years, before becoming business 
     manager of his Jacksonville Local IBEW 177.
       Later he became president of the Florida Building Trades 
     Council, and in 2009 Mike was elected President of the 
     Florida AFL-CIO, where he served distinctively until his 
     death.
       A natural born leader, Mike revitalized Florida labor by 
     fostering new alliances with community, immigrant, and faith-
     based groups.
       Tall, with a contagious smile, he told it to you straight 
     and always brought a worthy cause and compelling case for 
     workers to the Capitol.
       Direct and trustworthy, he was a man of standards whose 
     shoes will be hard to fill.
       Mike's empathy, dedication, and compassion will be sorely 
     missed, but his legacy and impact must never be forgotten.
       May his memory be a blessing.

  Mr. Speaker, I had lunch with him just in April, when I was there for 
legislative session. We talked about how he was looking forward to 
doing his summer boating that he would do every year. He would go all 
the way up the East Coast and then through the Great Lakes, down the 
Mississippi, and back out around. Other times he would go to the Keys 
or to the Bahamas or to other areas.
  I am deeply saddened that he lost his life doing something he loved, 
but he got to see so much and meant so much to so many folks on my team 
and throughout the State legislature and the Congress.
  Mike, I pray for you, and I hope you rest in peace. God bless your 
family.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________