[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 13843-13844]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 HONORING THE LOCAL 103 OF THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL 
                                WORKERS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 11, 2000

  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, one of the great rewards of public service 
is the opportunity to work with some of the finest people in this great 
land. It is with pleasure and pride that I honor today the men and 
women of Local 103 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical 
Workers on the occasion of an historic milestone in its long and 
accomplished legacy.
  At the turn of the last century, 12 courageous men gathered in Boston 
to charter an IBEW local. The national labor union had been formed a 
decade earlier in St. Louis to help safeguard health and safety for a 
trade in which half the workers died on the job. Since then, Local 103 
has grown to represent over 5,000 men and women working in construction 
and telecommunications in 106 Massachusetts cities and towns, with over 
200 contractors and 30 collective bargaining agreements.
  In recent weeks, it was my privilege to participate in a 
commemoration of Local 103's one-hundredth anniversary. Over the last 
century, the IBEW has worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life 
for our community, and it has been a personal and professional 
inspiration to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Local 103 on behalf of 
its extended family.
  The able leadership of Local 103 has earned the respect and 
admiration of all of us who struggle for fundamental safeguards for 
working families. The breadth and stature of the leadership of Rich 
Gambino and his entire team would bring a proud smile to the faces of 
the 12 pioneers who assembled in 1900 with such vision. We take a 
moment to salute their memory--Leonard Kimball, Henry Thayer, John 
McLaughlan, Joseph Hurley, WC Woodward, James Reid, FC Stead, Joseph 
Matthews, Francis Wachler, Everett Calef, Theodore Gould and WW 
Harding. We honor their legacy by reaffirming their commitment to 
paving the way for fair, safe and rewarding work environment for all 
working men and women.
  To commemorate their work and aspirations, following are my remarks 
to the sisters and brothers of Local 103 to celebrate the dawning of 
the next century for the IBEW:

                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                                      May 6, 2000.
       Dear Friends: To greet the members of Local 103 is to see 
     the face of the American middle class--the people whose 
     mothers and fathers built this nation and the foundation for 
     its future.
       From the presidential campaign to the corner grocery, one 
     word you hear a lot these days is ``vision''. To some, it's 
     little more than a throw-away line. But the rank-and-file of 
     103 has endured a century of world wars and building booms, 
     of depressions and picket lines, of nonunion competition and 
     responsibilities as big as the Hancock Tower. And the members 
     of 103 have not only endured, but have thrived in ways that 
     literally light up this Commonwealth.
       The work of Richie Gambino, the 5000 brothers and sisters 
     of Local 103, and their predecessors over the last century, 
     have laid a sound foundation for our community with genuine 
     vision. Vision for economic opportunity and social justice; 
     for traditional industry and for e-business; for global 
     commerce and human rights.
       This vision is an engine of skill, hope and compassion 
     which challenges friends, neighbors and even your adversaries 
     to aspire to the standards of excellence personified by those 
     dozen men who gathered 100 years ago in downtown Boston to 
     lay down a marker for fundamental fairness for working 
     people. Every stride we have made along the way has been 
     earned by the proud work and outstretched hand that defines 
     the vision of this extended family.
       We respect these humble beginnings by gathering today to 
     reaffirm our commitment to collective bargaining and the 
     equity it ensures--from wages to health care to retirement 
     security.
       Over the last 100 years, this nation has been transformed 
     in dozens of historic ways.

[[Page 13844]]

     But certain truths stand unchanged--and they are embodied in 
     the principles for which we together stand, in Washington and 
     here at home.
       Please accept my very best for a joyous celebration.
           Sincerely,
                                              William D. Delahunt.

     

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