[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 135 (Friday, August 11, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E767]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





              RECOGNIZING THE 90TH BIRTHDAY OF EDWARD DALY

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                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 11, 2023

  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Edward 
Daly, Sr. of Vernon, Connecticut. Ed turns 90 this August 15th, and as 
he reaches this milestone, it is fitting that we take this opportunity 
to honor and recognize his contributions as a model citizen and 
passionate advocate for workers' rights.
  Born 1933 to Michael and Catherine Daly, Ed was raised in Hartford, 
Connecticut. He was instilled with the values of service from a young 
age. Brought up by a politically active family, he also learned early 
on that one must proactively fight for effective representation, to 
improve the lives of working families. There is much to cite about Ed's 
90 years of activity. However, it is important to emphasize that 
organizing--advocating for effective representation--within local, 
state, and federal communities became a defining mission within Ed's 
life.
  Mr. Speaker, there were several benchmarks from Ed's life which 
influenced his outlook and community involvement. From 1953 to 1955, he 
bravely served his country in the Korean War as a radio operator. Upon 
his return from the Korean peninsula, he pursued an education in and 
achieved a degree in Animal Science from UConn's esteemed College of 
Agriculture. In 1969, he and his family moved to Vernon, where they 
have remained pillars of the community ever since.
  Armed with his education, Ed continued his life of public service as 
a Dairy Inspector for Connecticut's Department of Agriculture and 
Natural Resources. Afterwards, he transitioned to the Department of 
Environmental Protection as a founding employee in the Soil 
Conservation Division. There, as a Land Agent, he helped establish the 
Open Spaces and Tidal Wetland Programs. The Department of Environmental 
Protection would eventually morph into the Department of Energy and 
Environmental Protection. Ed's early contributions helped nurture the 
Department into becoming the lynchpin of statewide conservation 
practices that it is today.
  While Ed's trailblazing career with the State's civil service is a 
living piece of Connecticut history in and of itself, a more prominent 
aspect of his still incomplete legacy has been his penchant for 
advocacy. Given his upbringing, Ed viewed a workforce as a community 
where it was their responsibility to collectively better their own 
condition. He personally felt the carveouts of the federal government's 
1935 Labor Relations Act which notably excluded workers protections for 
state public employees. Ed spurred to action and laid the foundations 
for a new era of organized labor in Connecticut. He championed the 
formation of Connecticut State Employee Association, formally 
franchised by Generally Assembly statute in 1975, to represent workers 
in disputes. Before the arrival of collective bargaining agreements for 
state employees, civil servants like Ed saw their hours, working 
conditions and livelihoods at the whims of Connecticut's annual 
budgetary process. Unsurprisingly, Ed has a history of leadership 
within the CSEA, including serving as its president in 1986.
  As a union leader, Ed was instrumental in uplifting surrogate 
advocates for the Connecticut State Employee Association. A story that 
reflects his unyielding organizing efforts was his work to help elect 
Connecticut Governor Ella Grasso--the very person who, in their first 
year in office, signed the 1975 statutory recognition of the 
Connecticut State Employee Association into law. Convinced of her 
candidacy during the union endorsement convention before the general 
election, Ed instructed then-candidate Ella Grasso not to leave upon 
finishing her speech. In a sort of old fashion gamesmanship, he jumped 
to the stage upon the departure of the other candidate, took control of 
the microphone and provided a riveting endorsement of Ella Grasso 
before the audience. As the story goes, Grasso was elected one of the 
first female governors in U.S. history later that year.
  Ed has existed as a backbone in Connecticut Democratic politics. He 
served as Campaign Manager and Treasurer for several successful local 
candidates and further served as the Chair of the Vernon Democratic 
Town Committee from 2001 to 2003, where he helped deliver majorities on 
the Board of Education and Town Council. I have lived in the same town 
as Ed for quite some time. I can personally attest that he has been 
there thick and thin to uplift solid candidates in and out of Vernon, 
Connecticut.
  Mr. Speaker, as Ed initiates his 90th year, where he continues in his 
retirement as a serious model railroad maker and avid Red Sox fan, I 
find it appropriate that we take a moment to recognize this father of 
organizing. I count myself incredibly fortunate to represent 
constituents as civically minded and progress-oriented as Ed Daly. I 
urge my colleagues to pay a testament to his 90 well-lived years.

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